Of My Soul
by Nehnah14
Summary: REPOST! Exploring the world of reincarnation and the bond between true soulmates, This story follows the lives that B&E have to live through before they can have their HEA. AH/Spiritual. Rated M Just incase.
1. Prologue

_**Of My Soul**_  
_**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, except the plot and the poem at the start**_  
_**So Guys, This is the repost. No other changes have been made to the chapters that had already been posted before being removed. I fully intend to finish the story along with my other ones too!**_

_**Let me know your thoughts please!**_

_The heavens opened_  
_And down came her_  
_She sought me out_  
_She brought me to light_  
_I moved from hell_  
_When I laid eyes on her_  
_She moved from heaven_  
_To become my angel_  
_I am who I am_  
_Because she made me whole_  
_My love, My life, My soul_  
_Hers and hers alone_

_By Nehnah Dhiman_

**Prologue**

**Angel of Destiny POV**

It's hard work maintaining people's destinies. Over the years and decades I have seen many souls perish and wither and in the same sense I have seen them flourish and fly. I have become attached to many souls but there are two souls whom I have guarded and watched over that have gained my respect and admiration for the courage and valour against all odds.

Many a times they have met and many a time they have been separated, for it was their destiny to do so. Six times. Six times they have met and been torn apart. Their destiny was foretold before the written word was brought about. They would have to lose six times in order for their seventh meeting to be heavenly.

I am sending them back now. It is time for their seventh meeting. I have allowed them to retain some of their memories from the previous six times but have left them hidden. This meeting, though their last, will test them again. They will need to find each other but not until the time is right.

From a Nubian Princess and the Prince of Egypt in 572 BC to the Lord's daughter and the Kings son in 1918, they have always been of a high class blood line of opposing sides. This time, they are simply a daughter of a lawyer and a son of a doctor. There are no opposing sides. That much has been made easy for them. What will be hard is the fact that they are not due to meet until their 21st birthdays and yet their dreams will be of one another.

Good luck to them. I have done all I can to ensure them their love this time now it is up to them to fight for it. Again.

God Bless.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**EPOV – Age Eight**

_Dear Diary_

_I had that dream again last night. My dreams are very vivid. Sometimes they are of my parents and my toys and other times they are of princes and princesses. These ones confuse me. I am not a girl so why am I dreaming of princes and princesses? I want my dreams to be of soldiers and battles! Not sissy princes and princesses! But anyway, Momma says we dream of our pasts whenever I ask. She says they are our sub..sub...our minds way of telling us things. My momma is very clever._

_It's my eighth birthday and I'm having a party. All my friends from school are coming and I'm so excited because my best friend Jasper is also coming._

"Edward! Come have some breakfast darling!"

_Oops, that's my momma. Better go, it'll be time for my party soon!_

_'Til later!_

_Edward Anthony Cullen_

**BPOV – Age Seven**

_**Hey,**_

_**Ugh! I hate the weekends!**_

_**There is never anything to do. I prefer school. I'm a very good student and I love to read so school is my favourite place to be. My other favourite place is my dreams. You see I have very clear dreams and I love having them. Last night I dreamt that I was a princess and my prince was coming to meet me secretly. I have wondered what these dreams mean but so far I have not found an answer to that question.**_

_**My name is Isabella Marie Swan and I am the daughter of Charlie and Renee Swan. My older brother is Emmett Swan. My brother is my best friend and I don't have many friends unless you count Angela. She is my best girl friend. I live with my dad, but Mom lives not too far from here. Mom is married to Phil, they got married last year and my parents have been divorced for six years now. I see my mom all the time, but I don't stay with her.**_

_**Anyway, Angela suggested I start a dream diary, so I begged my dad to buy me one. So this is my dream diary introduction and I'm sure I will fill it up in no time as my dreams are always so clear and I always remember them.**_

_**Laters!**_

_**Bella**_

"Hey Bella, can you come out and play?"

I heard my friend Angela call from her house across the street. I looked up and waved as I snapped my diary shut. I jumped up from my seat on the blanket in my front yard and ran to join her.

"Hey Ang!"

"Hey! Was that your new diary?"

"Yeah, dad just got it for me so I thought I would start it."

"Any dreams last night?"

"Yeah, the same as usual. I'm a princess and I'm meeting my prince in secret. I never see his face though and it's so frustrating!"

"I bet he's handsome though!"

We giggled at that. I may not be a girly girl, but I sure can giggle like one. Angela and I met on our first day of kindergarten. The teacher had sat us down on the same beanbag and we hit it off. We've been friends ever since then. My teachers tell me that I am an 'old soul' whatever that means. I guess it's because even at age seven I am more mature than most of the kids in my class. I don't get involved in the playground fights and the petty squabbles over who gets the last cookie. I don't see the point really. I am smart when it comes to studies and am way ahead of some of the kids in my class. Angela and I make very good study partners.

We played in Angela's front yard for a couple of hours and then she got called in for dinner so I left her to it. Besides, I had to make dinner for dad and Emmett too. Tonight would be a spaghetti and sauce night. I was too tired from playing all afternoon to bother with anything fancy.

I got ready for bed later that night and climbed in under the covers. The last thing my eyes saw before I drifted off to sleep was my diary. I smiled to myself. Maybe I would get more details on my dream and then I could write it down.

* * *

**A/N - Since this just a repost, the first 13 chapters are already written and waiting to be posted. I will endvour to post a new chapter each day until I get to the last written chapter. Hopefully by then, following chapters will also be ready to be posted too!**

**As always, R&R!**

**For those who have alerted this story - Thank you for being so damn patient and sticking with me! Muchos Grazias!**


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: This is a slighty (VERY slightly) re-worked version which you can thank 2amlovesick for. My little muse, she is. See if you can spot the change!**

**Let me know what you think!**

**Chapter Two**

**EPOV – Age thirteen**

"_Andorra, my love, we can't keep risking our lives like this. Come away with me."_

"_Taos, you know that I cannot. What would become of my sisters?"_

"_It is not your sisters that I desire, it is you."_

"_I know that, my heart, but I cannot leave them to the council's mercy."_

"_We would not be gone forever, my love. We would marry and then return."_

"_Taos, your throne? You are the next Pharaoh."_

"_I do not want it. I only want you, Andorra. Please tell me that I can have you?"_

"_I am yours always, Taos, but you have a duty towards your father and country that you cannot deny. You have a destiny which leads to that throne and you must fulfil it."_

_All of a sudden there were loud shouts and the stamping of large feet running towards us. Our time had grown short now. I would have to leave my princess once again. I pulled her in for a quick kiss and then released her. I made my way over to the edge of her balcony and swung my legs over._

"_Until tomorrow night, my love." I blew her a kiss and then jumped down to the ground below._

_I ran through the shadows until I reached the entry archway. I turned back briefly and saw my princess stood at her balcony watching me go. I lifted my hand and waved at her. Just as she started to wave back, her father's guards broke through the curtains separating the balcony from her room. I watched in horror as they dragged her away from the balcony edge and brought her to stand before her father. There was another figure beside him; a feminine figure. I couldn't make out who it was but her straight backed stance belied her majestic birth._

_Her father stood regally and questioned her. I could see her crying and shaking her head and though I could not hear what they were talking about, I knew it was not good. I stood frozen as her father lifted his sword and brought it down-_

I sat bolt upright in my bed, panting. This dream was new. I had never had this one before. This was also the first time I had seen the face of my princess. She was beyond beautiful. Long wavy mahogany hair that reached down to her waist, a heart shaped face with caramel coloured eyes that were big and almond shaped. Her skin was flawless, smooth and creamy. I even remembered how she felt in my arms; so soft and warm and so right. She fit there perfectly. The feeling was so real that I could have sworn she actually was in my bed with me.

I internally scoffed at myself and climbed out of my bed and walked to my desk. Pulling out the chair I sat down and unlocked my top drawer. This was where I kept my diary. I have kept a diary ever since I was eight years old. That was when these dreams started. I kept an account of each dream and always read back over them to try and decipher them. Granted, at eight, I had spent less time on the details and more on the general mention. As I grew older, my detailing became more. I described every single thing. The hair, the clothing, the feelings; everything.

For the last five years the dream has always been the same with very little changing. I would always be meeting my princess in the dead of the night and we would always have this same conversation. Though tonight, the detail was more and the conversation was more, the end was even newer. As a child I had worried as to why I dreamt of princes and princesses, but in the last year or so (ever since girls had become an object of interest, I might add!) my worrying had shifted more to the 'why this dream in a particular?' Tonight's dream shook me. The end was new, I had never seen this before and what was worse was the sight of that sword. Somehow I knew what it meant. My princess had been killed and that thought tore through me, sending waves of pain through my heart. I gasped and clutched at my chest, doubling over my desk.

It was several minutes before the pain subsided, but by then I had cried a river of tears and felt a little ashamed at my sissy reaction, but something inside me was telling me to pay attention to these dreams and so I did. I always did.

I opened my diary at a new page and started to describe tonight's dream.

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**It was the same dream tonight only it was different. Tonight, I felt her. I was holding her in my arms and I felt the electric shocks in my system. I saw her too. She's beautiful. My princess. Andorra. She has long wavy brown hair, mahogany with red streaks, down to her tiny waist. Her face is an exquisite heart shape and her skin is so creamy and smooth. But it's her eyes that captivate me. Large, almond shaped caramel coloured eyes that look like they are swirling. Her body was small and curvy and fit so perfectly in my arms. I can still feel her.**_

_**Tonight the dream was extended. The conversation was the same as always, but tonight I saw...I saw her father kill her. With his own sword. I felt the pain and despair as if I was actually there and watching it happen. I wonder what this means? Could this really be a very vivid dream...or is it a memory? Mine or someone else's? It feels like a memory. But then how is that possible. The setting in my dreams always looks like ancient Egypt and I have never been there!**_

_**What interests me is the unknown woman that had stood by and watched my princess be murdered whilst doing nothing to stop that atrocity. Who was she? Why did she do nothing to help Andorra? Did she know about our relationship and rat us out? What motive would she have to do so?**_

_**I have so many questions but no answers. Who do ask? I can't very well go to my parents and say 'Hey, guys, do you know if we've ever been to ancient Egypt?' Yeah right! They would have me committed! But still these questions remain and I hope to get my answers one day.**_

_**Until next time**_

_**Edward**_

I shut the book and laid it back in its place. I pushed back from my desk and glanced at the clock beside my laptop. 6.30am. May as well get up and get ready for school. There was no way I would be sleeping again now anyway. I gathered my thing for my shower and stepped into my en suite bathroom. I loved my bathroom. It was quite large for an en suite. It was done in white and black floor to ceiling tiles and a surround jet shower. In the far corner near the large frosted bay window is my circle whirlpool bathtub also in black with silver adornments and taps. My favourite part of my bathroom is my shower. Each wall has four power shower jets which can be adjusted to fit my mood.

I quickly showered and shaved (Yes, I recently started to shave!) and left the stall, wrapping my towel around my waist. I like to air dry so I never dry myself with my towel. I made my way to my closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Once I was dressed, I tried to flatten my hair. I say tried because no matter what I do to my hair, it never stays.

The rest of my day consists of my advanced placement classes (Yes, I am a genius) and ending with basketball practise. My sister, Alice is a cheerleader so we always ride the bus home together on the days I have practise. Alice or Mary Alice as she is officially named is my twin. Fraternal mind you. We look nothing alike, except for our green eyes. Where I have hair the colour of copper pennies, hers is a darker shade making it look more like a dark brown or nearly black. We do both have blond streaks. Alice is tiny. She is the smallest girl in our year. I am rather tall and lanky so I tend to tower over her.

My best friend, Jasper is more like my brother. We have been friends since we were five years old when he first moved here from Texas. Funny thing is, even now he still has a bit of his accent. Jasper and I tend to get up to much less mischief compared to other boys in our class. You would think that as a pair of thirteen year olds we would be rowdy and uncontrollable, but then neither Jasper nor I have been very normal even as kids. Jasper is a very quiet and calm guy. He only speaks if he has something worthwhile to share otherwise he tends to keep his mouth shut. I am quiet too, but that is mainly because I am shy. I don't make friends easily and especially since girls have started to become interesting to us guys I keep quiet.

I hate girls who giggle as soon as we walk into a room. Each week they have a new crush and more often than not the crush is either me or Jasper. Now, I'm not being pig headed or proud, but most of the girls in our class either have a crush on me or on Jasper. Jasper however has a crush on Alice. Yes Alice, as in my sister Alice. He thinks I don't know, but it's so obvious. Whenever she walks into the room his face lights up like the outside of our house on Christmas. I haven't said anything to him and neither he to me. I do find it strange though and I don't even want to think about them together. Shudder. Let's not even go there, yeah?

Dinner in our house is always a strange affair. It's either too quiet or too noisy. If Jasper joins us, it's always filled with laughter and jokes and if not we usually have a quiet conversation. Dad is the Chief of Surgery at Chicago University Hospital. It's a teaching hospital so Dad always has a new intern which means he's not always home for dinner. He does try, but sometimes it just feels like he's not a part of our family. I do not doubt his love for us in any way, but I just wish sometimes he would just let go of his job a little and actually spend time with us.

Mom owns her own business of interior design so she is around a lot more often as she tends to work from home in her office located just off of their bedroom on the first floor. Mom is a very gentle person and a mother in every sense of the word. Next to Alice and Jasper, she is the person I would go to for advice and comfort and so far she has always come through for me.

Being such a serious person, I am already decided on my course in life. As much as I hate my father being so absent in our lives, I do admire his work as a doctor. I understand the importance of it more than he realises that I do. Now, I'm not saying that I want to be a doctor, but psychology and the mind has always interested me. That is what I want to be. A shrink. Dad went to Harvard for his medical degree, but I think I would prefer a warmer climate so my mind is already set on going to Berkley. I read about this college online and it has so much to offer that it just seems like the most logical choice. That and something seems to be drawing me to there. Oh well, I have another five years to go before I can even bring that dream to fruitatian, who's to say by that time I will still wish to go there?

**BPOV**

_**Hey,**_

_**My dreams have changed. They've become clearer. Last night my dream was the same as it always has been - Me meeting my secret prince only this time I saw him. I **__**actually **__**saw him! That has never happened before. Although my dreams have always been vivid, the one thing I have never been able to see is my prince's face. He is by far the most gorgeous man I have ever seen. He is tall with bronze hair and blond highlights. He has an angular jaw and pale skin. His eyes. Oh, his eyes! They are the most startling shade of green I have ever seen! So light, lighter than emeralds and yet so deep at the same time. When he looked at me I felt as if he was looking right into my soul and understanding everything that it was saying to him. His body felt so warm and strong against mine that even now, sitting here four hours later, I can still feel him. I can still feel his arms around me, holding me protectively, lovingly and gently. I can still smell him too. His scent is so inviting, a mixture of honey and musk.**_

_**I wonder if this man is real. I mean, I'm not like most girls my age who all of a sudden seem to be interested in boys and clothes, but there is something about my prince that calls to me if only I could figure out what it was and if he actually exists. The thing is; the dream feels more like a memory than an actual dream or fantasy. **_

_**Wow. How stupid is that thought? How can it be a memory? My name is not Andorra, which is what he calls me and I certainly don't know anyone called Taos. Judging by the names and the surrounding area, I would say the setting is ancient Egypt and there is how I know it is just a fantasy. I have never been to Egypt, let alone **_**ANCIENT **_**Egypt!**_

_**I have to laugh at myself. I'm letting this dream get to me, but how the hell else do I explain the feeling that I have actually lived it then? Including what happened tonight. My death. At the hand of my father, the king.**_

_**Ok, definitely losing my mind now so I'm going just shut up and get ready for school. Hopefully Mike will leave me be today.**_

_**Until later**_

_**Bella**_

I shut the book and placed my diary back under my pillow. Sighing I shoved myself off from my bed and headed to the bathroom to start my morning routine. I never lied in my diary and for the first time since I started keeping a diary five years ago, I had lied today. My dream last night had kind of freaked me out. It really did feel like I was reliving a memory and not just dreaming. Something inside me was telling me this 'dream' was important to me somehow. Even in my unconscious state I could feel this...pull, for lack of a better word, towards my prince.

I snorted to myself. I always knew I wasn't like other girls my age. Even at age twelve, nearly thirteen, I was more mature than most students in my year and above. Taking care of my dad and brother all these years had forced me to grow up a lot faster than the rest. I mean, I even knew where I wanted to go to college when the time came! I knew what I wanted to study and I knew where I wanted to go in life. I had my entire life planned and mapped out already and kids my age were only thinking about basketball, clothes, the opposite sex or the latest celebrity news. Yeah I knew I was an anomaly in between my peers. Sue me.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**EPOV – Age Fifteen**

The dreams have changed again; same girl, different dream. They changed about two weeks ago, just after school started up again and they have progressively gotten clearer. Last nights dream was the clearest yet:

**Flashback**

_I ran through the maze, winding my way left and right. I could hear her laughter from nearby, but damned if I could actually see her!_

"_Come, my lord, I am not that hard to find, am I?" I heard her call from somewhere to my left._

"_You are teasing me, my lady, how is this game fair?" I called back, turning to my left, following her sweet voice._

"_Fair lord, you wound me! I would never dream of teasing you. This is a maze, is it not? I have gone one way and you simply have gone another." I could hear the laughter in her voice and it spurned me on._

"_Then tell me where you are! I have not seen you in four long months, Annabelle, I ache to hold you." I pleaded._

_I rounded one last corner and found myself in the centre of the maze. It was a wide circle with a fountain in the middle and stone benches designed in half circles placed around it. Seated on the bench closest to me was my love, my Annabelle. She looked up and her beautiful face broke out in a wide smile as her eyes landed on me. I slowly walked forward and dropped to my knees before her, pulling her into my body. She sighed in contentment just as I sighed in relief; the ache now gone as it always was when she was near._

"_I'm so happy to finally see you my love." I whispered into her hair._

"_I am too, my darling. Four months is a frighteningly long time to be apart, is it not?" she whispered back._

"_Indeed, my Belle" I answered._

_I pulled back and looked deep into her endless brown eyes. I stroked her face with my fingers gently before I leaned in and kissed her soft lips. As soon as my lips found hers the electricity that flowed through me whenever she was near intensified and crackled around us._

"_Lady Annabelle!"_

_I broke away from her and looked behind me in a panic. No one knew I was here and I was certain that no one knew she was here either so why was that voice so clear and close?_

"_Go to the path on the left, then right, then left again and then go straight. It will lead you out without being seen. I will stay here and wait for them. Go, before you are caught here! If anyone should find out then the King surely will know and that would put you in jeopardy. Go!" Annabelle whispered urgently to me._

_I tightened my arms around her and she hugged me back just as fiercely for a moment before she pulled back and shoved me away from her._

"_Go, Eric, go!" she said again and stood up, backing away from me._

"_But-" I started._

"_No! Go! I can't have you in danger. Please, go." _

_I could see the tears in her eyes and they tore through my heart. How could I leave her? But she was right, as always. I was betrothed to another and her father was in discussions with the Baron of Oxley for her hand in marriage to his eldest son, James. I turned and ran to the left path, following her instructions. Just before I reached the tree line that would conceal me from her view and any others, I turned back and looked at her._

"_I love you, my Belle. I'll see you again soon." I vowed. She nodded and blew me a kiss._

"_I love you too, Eric. Always." She answered as her tears overflowed and fell._

_I left then, just as I heard her maid reach her, exclaiming over her tears and asking her what was wrong. Was this going to be the last time I ever saw her again? I hoped not._

**End Flashback**

The girl was the same, the same hair, same eyes, same face, same everything; the only thing different was her name. She was Annabelle this time, not Andorra as she had been for the last seven years. I have no idea what this change meant but the feelings were the same. Even now as I sat in the library during study hall I could still feel the warmth of her body against mine, her lips moving with mine and her smell. She smelt of strawberries and the scent was heavenly. It compared to no other.

The setting also seemed to have changed. It was no longer ancient Egypt but 1900's England. The older I got, the more vivid the dreams became and the more conscious I became of the fact that they were not merely dreams, but memories. The love I felt for this girl was astounding and confusing. I found myself searching for her beautiful face in crowds before I caught myself and mentally smacked myself back to reality. Someone so perfect could not exist. Could they?

The only people who knew of my nightly dreams were Alice and Jasper. They both had listened to me describe them in great detail and neither one had ever ridiculed me for them. They seemed to understand that they confused me enough.

I sighed and rose from my seat and made my way to where the archives were kept. This morning, when I had described the new dreams to Alice and Jasper, they had suggested I do some research, maybe look up the names. I had snorted at them at first, but sitting here now I wondered why I hadn't thought of it before. If they felt like memories to me then why should I question them? Maybe I _was_ having them for a reason as Alice had insisted. I mean seven years is a long time to be dreaming of the same thing, right?

I found myself at the computer desks. Pulling out a chair I sat down and fired up the monitor. I drummed my fingers on the desk beside the keyboard as I waited.

"Hey, taking our advice finally?"

I jumped at the sound of Jasper's calm voice from behind me. I turned and looked up at him. Both Jasper and I had grown several inches over the summer. We now stood at around 5'11" each. For my birthday my parents had installed a game/workout room in our basement so suffice to say, Jasper and I had spent quite a few hours down there messing about with the weights and such. Of course, that meant that we had both filled out some, causing the female population of John Harvey High to swoon even more over us.

Though I had gotten over my shyness in the last couple of years, the girls at my school still held no interest for me, it wasn't for lack of trying on their part though; I just wasn't interested in the flakiness. My personality had always been more reserved and quiet, so despite losing my shyness, my quiet nature remained the same.

Jasper had also matured quickly. Especially since his father left last year, leaving him, his twin sister Rosalie and their mom behind with a mountain of debt. They had had to sell their gorgeous five bed roomed Victorian style house to pay off the debts and had moved into a more modest three bedroom mid terraced house on the outskirts of Chicago. Jasper's mom worked two jobs to keep the money coming in and I knew Jasper was itching to turn sixteen so that he could help out by getting his own job. I had tried to help him out, but the idiot refused to take money from me or my family.

"Yeah, figured I would. It seemed like decent advice." I answered as I shrugged.

Jasper pulled up the chair from the next desk and sat down beside me. We bumped fists in greeting and then I turned back to my screen. The computer had loaded up and was just waiting for my command now.

"Try through the internet first." Jasper said. I nodded and clicked open a new internet window.

I typed in 'Prince Taos; Ancient Egypt' in the search field and waited. The amount of returns I got shocked the shit out of me. Five thousand, three hundred and two. Wow. I gazed down the links and one caught my eye: 'The Tale of a Forbidden Love; Taos and his Nubian Princess'. I quickly clicked on the link and read through the words on the page:

_**It is said that Prince Taos, son of Pharaoh Tahanus (circa 570 BC), loved a Nubian Princess, Andorra. Though the love was forbidden, the two lovers met in secret every night until the untimely death of Princess Andorra.**_

_**Prince Taos, next in line for the Double crown of Egypt is said to have only ever told one person of his trysts with Princess Andorra; his brother, Prince Tamos. Though there is no real proof of this fact, the scrolls found in the tomb of Prince Taos do allude to this. Scholars have tried to decipher the hieroglyphs for years now, ever since the scrolls were found originally in 2005. So far they have managed to read just under half of them. Of the seventy scrolls found, at least twenty of them speak of Taos and his love.**_

_**Also described in these scrolls is the devastation Prince Taos felt after his love's death, which according to the scrolls was carried out by her own father, King Aapep. His writing tells of his deep depression and eventual death a mere four months after Princess Andorra.**_

I sat back in my chair, shocked into silence as I stared at the words on the screen. How was this possible? I had been right; these were not dreams, but memories. I slowly turned to look at Jasper, who appeared to be in the same state that I was.

"No Way" Jasper finally breathed out.

"Way." I replied.

"So it's true. All of it. All those dreams have been a memory?" he asked.

"It would seem so, wouldn't it?" I mused.

Suddenly a thought hit me. If my dreams…no sorry, memories of Taos and Andorra were in fact real, what about Eric and Annabelle? I quickly turned back to the computer and pulled up another web page. Once I had Google up again, I typed in Prince Eric, England 1900'. Again the amount of matches astounded me. There were over 10,000. I scrolled through them one by one until I finally came across an interesting one. It was an article in an old newspaper 'The London Times'. I clicked on the link and was once again reeling with shock. It was an announcement of the engagement of Prince Eric with the Princess of France, Lucienne.

But that wasn't what shocked me the most. No what shocked me was the grainy picture included with the article. The girl in the picture was beautiful, but not as beautiful as the girl in my dreams so I knew this was not her. Lucienne was tall, and though the picture was black and white I could make out that she was a blond, with a haughty look about her, nothing like my sweet girl. The guy however was what sent my mind into a blank canvass. The guy was…me. He was taller than me and slightly more built, and I could not make out his hair colour or the colour of his eyes, but his features were all me. He had the same jaw line, the same nose, shit he even had my ears!

"Holy…dude, that's you!" Jasper exclaimed from beside me.

I couldn't look at him, I couldn't answer him, hell, I couldn't even move! How was this possible? What did this mean? I finally broke my stare and looked at Jasper.

"I think it's time I spoke to my parents."

**BPOV – Age Fifteen**

I sighed as I sat and listened to the teacher repeat the rules of her classroom. They never changed and each start of the year they all thought it would be wise to remind us of them, not that half the student body actually paid attention to them. I leaned back in my chair and doodled on the open notebook in front of me. The first week of school was always like this, we never actually got any learning done so it left me plenty of time to think. My thought almost always drifted to my nightly dreams, especially recently. The dreams had changed. It was no longer ancient Egypt, but 1900's England.

The new dreams left me confused. I couldn't understand why they had changed. I'm not stupid, as soon as I had figured out more details of my previous dreams, I had done some research. I found that Prince Taos had actually existed, as had Princess Andorra. I was extremely surprised when I came across the article in Archaeology Today. The discovery of Prince Taos's tomb was a huge find and more so, the scrolls. I had hungrily read through each article, writing and description that I could find and trust me, there were thousands! What got me though, was that every article mentioned a 'Forbidden Love'. I had found an article on one of my searches on Google that explained that Taos had kept scrolls of his love for Andorra. The scrolls had not all been translated, but what had were very clear on the tale of Taos and his Nubian Princess, Andorra. Her death had marked the beginning of the end of him. Once she had been killed, Taos had fallen in a deep depression, refusing to eat, sleep or even attend council meetings. He had essentially shut down until finally, four months after his princess's death, he had succumbed to his broken heart and died in his sleep.

My very last dream of Taos and Andorra had shaken me to the core. I had felt everything; his kiss, his embrace, his warmth and finally, my father's sword. That was the dream I had been having for almost seven years now, so I couldn't understand the change. I decided that if Taos and Andorra had actually existed then so did Eric and Annabelle. That meant that there must be a record of them somewhere too. I may not be getting homework from my classes this week, but it seemed that I had found my own homework instead; I would be researching.

I was still lost in my thoughts and plans when I saw a folded piece of paper land on my desk. I glance up at the teacher, who appeared not to have noticed and then to my right. My best friend, Angela, sat there smirking at me as she gestured to the paper before me. I picked it up and unfolded it:

**Same dream last night?**

I shot Angela a quick look and then scribbled out my reply:

_**No, new one. Wanna help me research tonight?**_

I folded the paper back up and flicked it over to her. She caught it and quickly, but quietly opened it and read through before her eyebrows shot up to her hairline. She snapped her head up and looked at me, surprise clear on her face. She nodded and then bent over the paper again. Once she had finished she flicked it back to me:

**New dream or new development?**

I sent my reply back:

_**I'll explain at lunch. Full detail.**_

She nodded again and then turned her attention back to the front. The rest of the class was spent reading. When the bell finally rang for lunch, Angela and I quickly made our way out to the tables. It was an unseasonably warm day in New York. September was not always this warm, though I did love seeing all the beautiful fall colours that took over the streets at this time of the year, I just hated the winter rain and the cold that came with it.

Angela and I settled ourselves at our favourite table with our lunch spread in front of us before she turned to me and demanded I answer her questions.

"So? New dream or new development?" she asked.

"New dream. Totally new. No Taos and no Andorra at all." I answered.

"What? Then what?" she exclaimed.

I described my new dream to her. The attire, the maze, the words, everything. The only thing that had not changed was the look of my prince. The name was different, but the man was the same. Angela listened in quiet awe as I described the chase through the maze and the kiss in the centre and the eventual separation at the end. I recalled each detail as if it had happened just moments ago. When I finished Angela sat staring at her hands for a long moment before she spoke.

"Bella, have you ever believed in reincarnation?" she asked quietly. I snorted.

"No, how is that possible? It can't be…can it?"

I started off strongly, but as her words sank into my mind, I began to question why not. After all I had always said that the dreams felt like I had actually lived them. They had always seemed like memories to me, as if I was reliving something in my past, so why was the thought of reincarnation so out of reach? But what would that mean? Was I reliving the past for a reason? Was there something I was supposed to do? Some wrong to right? I had more questions now than I did answers.

Later that evening Angela and I sat at my desk side by side as my laptop spat back results from my search. I was once again surprised at how many came back. All I had typed into the search field was 'Lady Annabelle' and the amount of results was mind blowing. I scrolled through and found an article from a newspaper. It appeared to be an announcement of marriage. I quickly clicked on it and read the announcement:

**Lord Matthew of Hattonshire and his wife Lady Harrietta proudly announce the marriage of their daughter, Lady Annabelle to the son of the Baron of Oxley.**

**Lady Annabelle and Lord James are to marry on the 23rd of November 1918 in a ceremony at St Andrews Church in Hattonshire.**

**We, all at The London Times wish the happy couple a prosperous future.**

I scrolled further down the page and came to a grainy picture. To say I was surprised was a gross understatement. The picture was of the couple. The man was tall and judging by the light colour of his hair, I would say he was blond. He was handsome, but he was not as good looking as my prince. The look in his eyes scared me; it was an evil glint that sent shivers down my spine and not the good kind either. The girl…the girl was me. The same features, the same wavy hair, the same height right down to the expression on her face.

So my thoughts that the dreams where all memories had been true. They had all been memories, my memories. My past.

I quickly clicked back out of the article and typed in Prince Eric instead. This brought up even more results, one of which was another article in The London Times. It was another announcement, this time of the engagement of Prince Eric to Princess Lucienne of France. I scrolled down the page until my eyes fell on another grainy picture. I gasped as for the first time in seven years; my eyes saw my prince in the flesh, so to speak. He was beautiful or as much as I could make out, he was. The features, the face, the messy hair, it wall all the same as the man who had been in my dreams for seven years. Because the picture was black and white I could not see the colour of his hair or his eyes, but I knew that if it had been a colour picture, his hair would be the colour of a shiny new penny with blond highlights and his eyes would be the clearest shade of green.

"Is that him? The man in your dreams?" Angela whispered from beside me, making me jump. I had forgotten that she was sat there.

"Yes." I whispered back once the surprise had worn off.

"He sure is good looking." Angela said in awe.

"He is, isn't he?" I answered my gaze still on the picture on my screen.

"So…what now?" Angela asked after a long moment of silence.

"Nothing. Just because I seem to be dreaming of past events, doesn't mean there is anything I can do about it. I think I'll keep this bit of research to myself for now." I replied.

"You're not even going to tell Em?" she asked, surprised.

I shared everything with my brother. Besides Angela, he was my best friend even though he was a year older than me. Emmett also knew about my dreams and of my research and the details of what I had found. His only response had been to laugh and tell me that only I could dream up the past. My brother, the joker.

Although I had told Angela that I still believed I was merely dreaming of past events, I had lied. I knew deep down that these were not simply dreams of past events, but these were my memories. I had a feeling that I was dreaming of my past lives, but with no way in which to prove that, there was nothing I could do.

Part of me wondered if my prince was real. Would I meet him one day? Would he recognise me? Would I even recognise him if I ever met him? I hoped so. God, I hoped so.

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**As always R&R. Thank you for all your continued support.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N - An extra chapter for all myfriends on since chapter 3 was posted so late in the day. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter Four**

**EPOV – Age Seventeen**

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Once again, the dreams have changed.**_

_**A totally new dream this time, but again, the girl is the same.**_

_**This new dream seems to be set in 1912. April 1912 if I am not mistaken. I only know the exact month and year because of where it is set.**_

_**This dream is set on the RMS Titanic.**_

_**Yeah, I said the Titanic. The ship of dreams that sank after hitting an iceberg. I was actually surprised to find that after my last dreams, the ones of Eric and Annabelle, this one had gone back further in time. According to my research on Eric and Annabelle, those dreams were set in England around 1918. They didn't end in the same way as the ones of Taos and Andorra, but they were heartbreaking anyway. It seems that Eric and Annabelle married the people their parent's had chosen and lived their lives separately only to die at a young age.**_

_**I think on some level I have come to accept that the dreams I have been having since I was eight years old are in actual fact my memories of my past lives. I just can't understand why though. I have spoken at length about them with Mom and Dad and they both think that it all comes down to reincarnation. **_

_**Anyway, back to my new dream. My name this time is Andrew and she is Grace. She is still beautiful. Still petit with long brown hair and bottomless brown eyes. We both seem to be of the First Class passengers.**_

_**We all know how it ends though. We sink. I woke up just as my body hit the ice cold water. I was shaking when I woke up and I was extremely cold, as if I really had been in that water. It scared the living shit out of me because it's all very well being able to feel her as I hold her, but seeing the look on her face as she was rowed away from me in that lifeboat and I fell into the water and to my death; that was just beyond freaky. I actually felt the ice cold water hit my lungs as I drowned and I woke up gasping for air. What a horrible way to go.**_

_**I'm actually a bit afraid to sleep tonight. It is not a feeling I ever want to feel again. But judging by the dreams of the past nine years; it will happen whether I want it to or not.**_

_**Time for school.**_

_**Until later**_

_**Edward**_

Mom and Dad had actually been quite supportive in the last couple of years. After that day in the library I had come home from school and spoken to them about having my dreams. I still laugh when I think about that day two years ago when I first told them about my dreams. I swear, they thought I was mad! Dad actually offered to recommend a good shrink for me to talk to!

They believed me though after I showed them my research and my journal entries. I described my princess in detail before I showed them the picture of her from the announcement of her engagement. I described myself and the attire and explained about the maze. They believed me once Dad actually looked up the information. It seems that the maze in question is still standing in Hattonshire and still a part of the Lord of Hattonshire's estate.

Dad contacted him and he wrote back to confirm that his great, great Grandmother was in actually fact named Lady Annabelle and she had indeed married Lord James of Oxley. It appears that after she died they found a set of journals she had kept and she had described her love affair with Prince Eric in detail, including the meeting that day at the maze, which turned out to be their final meeting before each were married to their betrothed.

Yeah, I had been extremely smug the day Dad gave me that piece of information.

I quickly dressed for school and rushed down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast, grabbing my gym bag on my way out of my room. I found Mom in the kitchen, just plating up some scrambled eggs and toast for me. I dropped my bag at my feet and sat in one of the chairs at the breakfast counter.

"Good morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?" Mom greeted me as I started shovelling my food into my mouth.

"Sort of." I replied after I swallowed.

"Same dream?" she asked softly, looking concerned.

"No, new one." I shook my head to shake the images out of my head.

"Want to talk about it, sweetheart?"

I looked at my mother for a few moments considering her offer before my eyes slid to the clock on the microwave behind her. As much as I wanted to talk about it, I couldn't. I was running late for school.

"Tonight." I said as I finished my breakfast and got up to put my plate in the sink.

"Tonight then." Mom confirmed.

I bent and kissed her cheek as I passed her and waved goodbye. I picked up my gym bag and backpack from the floor by my chair and grabbed my keys from the table near the front door. I had recently passed my drivers test and gained my license. Mom and Dad brought me a car as a gift for my birthday this year. A Volvo C60. Black with cream leather interior. Alice got a yellow VW Beetle with two white flowers on each door when she passed her test a mere week after I did. We loved our cars. Well, I loved mine and she loved hers. I refused to ride in hers though. I really did not want to be arriving at school in that bright yellow thing. I may not conform to the normal standards and clichés of high school, despite being a basketball player, a jock, but that still didn't mean I wanted to damage my image by riding in something so girly. I had some self preservation.

I arrived at school and parked in my usual spot, right next to my twin's car. She had left earlier than me this morning for cheerleading practise so I had yet to see her. Having our own cars made things easier for us in terms of arriving and leaving school seeing as her practises had mostly been moved to early morning before school and mine had stayed at the end of school. We did however share most of our classes this year. We were both in the advanced placement programs and the only ones where our schedules differed were art and history. She had those, whereas I had music composition and world studies in those periods.

"Yo! E! Coach wants the team on field at the end of school. He wants to go over some plays for Friday's game."

I turned towards Matthew's voice and waved my understanding. It wasn't uncommon for coach to ask for an extra meeting to discuss plays when we were this close to a big game and this Friday's game was a big one with a rival school. As captain of the team, coach usually asked me to make the arrangements and notify the other players of extra practises but he did sometimes take his own initiative and do it himself.

I made my way to homeroom after stopping at my locker to stow away my gym bag and plopped down into my assigned seat. Almost immediately I was approached by Tanya. Tanya and I had dated for about four months last year. She had been my first girlfriend and my first sexual partner, but the relationship did not last long once I found her with the star player of the lacrosse team. Needless to say, I had been the one to break it off but she still hounded me, even now, almost a year later she continued to try and convince me that we were good together. We weren't. I wasn't in love with her and never had been.

In the last year I had grown up a hell of a lot more than most of my peers and my nightly dreams had taught me that my heart was never mine to give in the first place. I had come to the astounding realisation when Dad talked about reincarnation more and more that maybe; just maybe she was out there somewhere, waiting for me. I just had to find her and until I did, I would not be able to look at another girl in the same way that I looked at her in every one of my dreams. If those dreams were my memories of my past lives then who's to say that she didn't exist in this one? After all in each life it had always been me and her. She had to exist. Something inside me told me that she did, I just had to wait for her.

"Morning Eddie." Tanya purred in what she hoped was a seductive voice; it wasn't.

"Tanya. It's Edward, not Eddie. Stop calling me that." I replied curtly. I had no patience for her today or any other day for that matter.

"Fine. Edward. How are you?" she huffed.

"I'm fine. You?" I returned in a slightly more polite tone.

_Damn my mother for raising me to be a gentleman!_

"Mmm…better for having seen you." she purred again. I sighed.

"What do want Tanya?" I asked in a resigned tone.

"Take me to homecoming?" she asked brightly.

"Nope. Not gonna happen." I answered with smug smile.

"But-" she started but was interrupted.

"Tanya, get the hell away from my brother. How many more time is he going to have to turn you down before you save yourself the humiliation?" my twin snapped from where she stood behind Tanya.

Tanya turned to face my sister, her lips pulled back in a sneer making my hackles rise. I stood from my seat and stepped around her and towards my sister.

"Alice, is that any way for you to speak to your head cheerleader? Don't forget who has the power to remove you from the team." Tanya threatened.

"Tanya, any hope you have of getting back with me was lost when you fucked Tom while still being with me and it doesn't help your case if you threaten my sister either so back the fuck off." I snarled at her as I swung my arm around Alice's shoulders and hugged her to me.

Tanya huffed and stormed off to take her seat, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. It only made her look like the teenage harpy that she truly was. I looked down at my twin and smiled crookedly.

"Hey Ali. Good practise this morning?"

"Hey, E. It was ok. We tried out a few new cheers. Ms. Thang over there wants to try them out at the game on Friday." She replied with a smile of her own.

We sat down at our seats, which were next to each other seeing as the seating was arranged by surnames. Alice pulled out her sketchbook as we waited for the teacher to arrive for roll call and chatted about random shit while she doodled and I messed about with my iPod.

"Bad night last night, brother?" she asked quietly just as the teacher came in.

I nodded my head, "Yeah. New dream."

Alice looked at me in surprise and cocked an eyebrow in a silent question.

"Later." I whispered.

Roll call done and the bell tolled for the first period of the day. Alice and I stood from our seats and made our way towards Advanced Trig, talking about the upcoming game and arrangements for the homecoming dance. I listened as Alice chattered on about the decorations that had been selected by the committee which she was on, offering my own input and ideas when she paused for breath. We had just reached Trig when she stopped me a few feet away from the door.

"You look tired, Edward. Did you sleep at all?" she asked, concerned.

"Not much. The new one kicked my ass." I answered truthfully.

Alice and I never lied to one another. As twins we shared that special connection and she always knew it if I lied. She could read me better than anyone and I her.

"Wanna talk about it at lunch?" she asked in a sympathetic tone.

"Sure, though Mom wants to talk about it too tonight." I shrugged.

"Is it that bad?" Alice asked softly.

"I died so I would say so." I responded shortly. Alice gasped, her hand covering her mouth.

"You what?"

"I died. Look, can we talk about it later, please? Let's just get to class." I begged, not wanting to rehash my dream in the hallway surrounded by our fellow students.

Alice nodded and turned back to the classroom. I followed silently. We would talk about it later, but right now, I didn't want to think about it much. I could still feel the ice cold water on my skin and in my lungs and if I allowed myself to think about it for too long, I would be no good for the rest of the day and I sure as hell didn't want to lose my rag at school.

**BPOV – Age Seventeen**

"_Andrew! No!" I screamed as he pushed me towards the boats_

"_Grace, Go! Get on the damn boat!" He screamed back at me._

"_Not without you!"_

"_Please, Grace! Get on the boat! It's the last one leaving!"_

_He pushed me further towards the life rafts which were being lowered as I battled to stay with him. I stumbled a little but he caught me around my waist, pulling me into his chest. He traced my features with his fingertips and trailed his eyes all over my face. His beautiful green eyes were wet with tears and an insurmountable amount of sadness. I lifted myself onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his. He leaned own further and deepened the kiss, tightening his arms around me and holding me close._

"_I love you, Grace. Please remember that always. Go, love. I'll be with you soon." He whispered against my lips._

_A sob escaped my lips as I pulled back to look at him one more time. My tears fell in streams and his own overflowed and fell down his perfect face. He released his arms from around my waist only to tighten them again as the ship shuddered beneath us._

"_Go, my love. The boats are leaving." He pulled his arms from my waist and stepped back._

"_But, but what about you?" I stammered out through my sobs._

"_I'll follow as soon as I can." He promised._

_I nodded and turned towards the boats, getting into one and sinking down onto the wooden seat._

"_Andrew! I love you! Come back to me!" I called out to him where he stood on the deck above me._

"_I love you too, Grace. I'll always come back to you!" he called back, waving._

_The boat lowered slowly into the water. I kept my eyes on Andrew until I could see him no longer then I dropped my face into my hands, sobbing and shaking. It was a tight fit in the tiny boat and our movements were hindered further by the bulky life jackets each of us wore._

_The boat rowed away from the huge ship and I caught sight of the lettering proudly displayed on the side: RMS Titanic. This was the 'Ship of Dreams'. The 'Unsinkable Ship' and yet here it was, sinking. We all watched as the ship broke in half, bobbing up and down in the water for a few long moments until finally it sunk into the depths of the ocean below it, taking the remaining people left on board with it. My screams and sobs joined those around me, all of us crying out for the loved ones we had left on board, hoping against hope that they had somehow made it off and safely into one of the other boats. Praying to whatever deity was listening that we would be reunited with our families; husbands, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters…lovers._

I bolted upright in my bed and gasped, tears streaming down my face. My dreams had changed again. This new one had been replaying every night since my seventeenth birthday three weeks ago and every morning I awoke in tears streaming down my face and grief in my heart. I knew there was no way in which Andrew would have made it off of that ship. The feeling of loss and grief that I felt was overwhelming.

I had no idea why the dreams had changed again and especially since it seems to have gone back in time again instead of forward, but the feelings were so real that I could not stop the sobs that wracked my chest each morning. This dream was by far the most vivid. My dreams over the last nine years had always been vivid in detail and feelings, but this one seemed to be more so. The names and outfits were certainly different, but his face and my own was the same. He was still tall, well built with tousled bronze hair and sharp green eyes and just as handsome.

The love I felt for this man was indescribable. It was all consuming. He owned me, heart and soul.

Speaking of soul; ever since Angela had offered the explanation of reincarnation for my dreams I had researched that theory endlessly. There was a lot information out there about this subject and I drank it all in. there were many people who believed in reincarnation and many that didn't. Many people thought it was simply something that derived from the religions in Asia, but there were some people in the western world that had done extensive research on this subject too. I had read some of the research findings by university professors Ian Stevenson and Jim B. Tucker and each one posed a lot of questions and answers and more theories. The more I read the Asian philosophies, the more I began to believe that my dreams or rather my memories were a product of reincarnation.

This also meant that I started to believe that my prince was out there somewhere, waiting for me. My only fear was that we would once again be separated by horrible means. This thought scared me beyond belief. Was our love fated to fail in every lifetime? Were we doomed to find each other, only to lose each for an eternity? Was there no way in which our love could succeed?

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**R&R, Friends!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N – Another re-work! See if you can spot it! Thanks to 2amlovesick for the idea!**

**Chapter Five**

**EPOV – Age Eighteen**

_**Dear Diary**_

_**The dreams have changed. Again!**_

_**This time I seemed to have gone back in time again and I'm seriously beginning to wonder why I'm not remembering my past in order of events. Something tells me that the dreams are out of order for a reason and I think that reason is because of the nature of the dreams. The older I have gotten, the more heartbreaking and sorrow filled they have become. Some higher power seems to be at work here. My subconscious mind seems to understand that the reason for the sequence of the dreams is largely to do with the fact that I am more mature now and can understand the meaning of these dreams more.**_

_**My new dream is once again of me and my love. This time set in Renaissance period in France. My name is Marius and my love is Aurora and always, she is beautiful. Same hair, eyes, face; everything. I am Lord Marius and she is the daughter of Baron Leonard. Once again our love seems to be forbidden and ends in tragedy. **_

_**Of course. Isn't it always?**_

_**My death this time is at the hands of her brother, Lord Raphael during a duel which appears to have been started because he caught me kissing his sister. Though how he found us whilst we were meeting in our meadow is beyond me. I do recall a shadowed figure standing at the edge of the trees watching as Raphael and I duelled. This would be the second time I had seen her and still didn't know who she was and how she factored in to the death of my love. **_

_**You know, I'm getting really tired of dying or losing her. Ten years. Ten years I have dreamt of her. Albeit in several different scenarios, but still. You would think Fate would give me a break at some point, right?**_

_**One can only hope that at some point, the Fates will take pity on us and actually allow us to remain together. I hope so. If I meet her in this lifetime, will I get to keep her?**_

_**Hope is an eternal flame, isn't it?**_

_**Later**_

_**Edward**_

I sighed as I showered for school, thinking back on last night's dream and my diary entry this morning. My college applications have all been sent in and graduation was drawing near. Part of me was looking forward to leaving high school behind and venturing out into the world of higher education and the other part of me was dreading it.

The last year has been a whirlwind, passing so quickly that I barely noticed it. Sure the days have been the same. The same teachers, the same students, the same basketball court and most certainly the same girls but something in me has changed.

I have come to realise that no matter what I do, each girl I see or speak to will always be compared to her and the funny thing is, I don't even know what to call her! In my first dream she had been Princess Andorra, then she was Lady Annabelle, then she was Grace and now she was Lady Aurora, not to mention the very brief period in between Grace and Lady Aurora where she was Rosa, a Spanish Princess where I was Prince Emanuel of Greece (yeah, you can guess how that one ended too!). Her name had changed so many times over the years that I have almost lost count and I have given up calling her anything. Now in my mind she is simply 'My Love' or 'Angel' for I truly believe that anyone that looks like her had to be an angel sent from heaven. Sappy, I know, but like I have always said; I am a hopeless romantic at heart.

I have dated some and had a couple of girlfriends in the last couple of years, but each relationship could not hold me for long as each girl ended up asking me for more than I was willing to give. I don't know if it was wrong of me to be so obsessed with the girl from my dreams, but I really couldn't help it. She owned me. She owned my heart, my soul and my every thought. The only thing I had left to give my girlfriends was my body and even then I did so reluctantly. Somehow, I actually felt guilty after each one. I felt as if I was betraying my Angel. I couldn't explain it, but the feeling of intense guilty ate away at me for days afterwards. So much so, that I vowed celibacy until I could either find her or lay my dreams to rest forever. I had no other choice, I couldn't deal with that guilt again.

I had had sex a total of three times and one of those times was when I actually lost my virginity! I wasn't stupid; I knew that the girls talked and the general consensus about me was that I was a closet gay. I had laughed hysterically when I heard that one. The three girls I had slept with had pointed out that I was a good lover in bed, but my standoffish attitude otherwise contradicted that. To be honest, I didn't really give a shit. This was the last semester of high school and the chances of me seeing any of these people again, unless it's at my ten year reunion, is pretty slim. High school drama had always been just that for me; high school drama. It would have no bearing on my life after school so I didn't really refute the claims nor did I confirm them. Like I said, I simply didn't give a shit.

Finals were just around the corner and every senior at school was walking around the hallways with their noses buried in a book. It was quite comical to see really. Most of my peers didn't study through the year and now they seemed to be in a frenzy trying to read up on a years worth of material as if it would help them to pass. I knew I would have no problems in my exams; I was prepared and I was toting a 4.0 GPA.

I arrived at school a good 20 minutes before the first bell rang for homeroom so I headed to the benches in the courtyard where most of my team sat, enjoying the sunshine. My current ex-girlfriend was at the table too when I approached. Amanda and I had dated for a total of three months before she started talking about our future. Now that wouldn't be such a bad thing if it was a believable conversation, but she started making plans for us to attend college together and possibly eventually move in together. Yeah, I shot her down pretty quick. She had applied to NYU, Alaska and Florida State. None of these were one's I had applied to, well, apart from Florida State, but that was my last option. My first option was the one where I had always wanted to go; Berkley. Turns out, I had never changed my mind.

I knew I would have no problems getting into Berkley, especially seeing as my transcripts were flawless, but that didn't stop me praying to every God and deity out there that I did not get accepted into Florida State.

I strolled up to the table as a chorus of greetings went round. I called back greetings to each person, including Amanda as I sat down on the end of the bench. Hey, I was still a gentleman so there was no way in which I could ignore her. I chatted with my team mates for a few minutes before Jasper arrived, his hand firmly encased in Alice's. They had started dating last summer before the start of our senior year and were still going strong. I found it funny that Jasper actually asked for my permission before he asked her out, so I did play with him for a bit by giving him the whole 'hurt my baby sister and you shall die' speech. Needless to say he had been relieved when I laughed and said I was only playing with him.

"Hey E." Jasper said as he approached.

"Hey J. Did you ride in with Ali?" I replied back as we shook hands in greeting.

"Yeah, man. You ready for finals?" He asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, you?" I answered confidently.

"As I'll ever be." He returned.

I smirked at him. The fucker was as good as me at studies so I knew he was downplaying it a bit. Most of the people sat on the bench around me were not as fortunate as us to have good grades. Mostly because they tended to party more than study, but hey, it's their loss and unfortunately some of them were only just beginning to realise how much of a loss it was.

Jasper and I had never been your typical jock and Big Man on Campus. Sure, we were popular and we were good looking and we knew it too, but we had never abused that status. We played hard for our team and we studied even harder. We had goals and dreams to pursue and we had understood at an early age that they only way we would achieve those dreams, was to put in the effort from the start.

I knew that Jasper had applied for the same schools as me and that he was vying for a full scholarship in order to able to attend. I was hoping against all hope that he would be granted a full ride to Berkley. He had the grades to get it too. I had offered to help him out if he didn't get the full ride, but the stubborn ass still wouldn't let me. Alice had also applied to Berkley and Cal U for their Fashion Design programs. I sure as shit hoped she got into Berkley with me too. I dreaded the thought of being apart from her. She was my twin and it would damn near kill me to be so far from her, even if we were in the same state.

"E, what time are Gramps and Nana coming tonight?" Alice broke me out of my thoughts.

Shit, I had forgotten that our paternal grandparents were coming for dinner tonight for Dad's birthday.

"I think Mom said they would be coming for about six. Why?" I answered.

"I wanted to make a quick trip to the mall. I need to pick up the last part of Dad's present." She replied, shrugging.

Alice and I had gone in together for one part of Dad's present. We had saved up our pocket money since the beginning of the year and gotten him tickets to see his favourite band; Muse play live in concert next month. The second part of his present was going to be individual gifts. I already had mine. I had gotten him a leather bound copy of a particular medical journal he had mentioned wanting. It wasn't cheap and I had had to dip into my trust fund, which I had gained access to when I turned eighteen, to get it. I just hoped he would like it.

"What are you gonna get him?" I asked curiously.

"Well, you already got him that journal so I ordered him a personalized leather medical bag with all the equipment and a white lab coat with his name embroidered on the pocket." She replied.

"Nice. He'll like that." I nodded in approval.

"I know." She returned with a smirk that matched mine.

"Hey J, you coming tonight?" I turned to Jasper and asked.

"Nah, man, I gotta work the late shift tonight." He answered.

Jasper had been working at a local restaurant since he turned sixteen in hopes of helping his Mom out a little. His sister Rose, who didn't actually attend the same school as us, also worked at the same restaurant. I had always thought it was odd that Rose and Jasper attended different school's to us, especially since they were twins too, but they both reasoned that they were conditioning themselves for being apart in college. Rose had applied to NYU and Dartmouth as her first choices, so she would be attending college further away than Alice would from me if she went to Cal U so I supposed it was good reasoning however, having said that, I preferred having attended the same high school as Alice.

"Anything last night?" Jasper asked quietly.

This was a common topic of conversation between Alice, Jasper and me. My dreams. They always came up at some point during the day.

"New one. French Renaissance period." I answered in the same quiet tone.

"Serious?" he asked.

"Yep. Death by sword fight this time." I replied in what I hoped was a nonchalant tone. Judging by the look on both Jasper's and Alice's faces, I didn't achieve the desired effect.

"Shit. That's harsh, man." Jasper breathed as Alice smacked his arm.

"What? It is!" he defended.

"Shut up, dufus!" Alice retorted.

"Yeah, it's harsh. Try feeling it happen." I said as I dropped my gaze to my clasped hands.

The bell for homeroom rang before the conversation could go on any further. We all called our byes and headed off in our separate directions. I snorted quietly to myself. That seemed to be a very good metaphor for what would happen in a months time. We would all be going off in our separate directions in life. It only made me wonder where my direction would take me. Would it lead me to her? Could I actually keep her this time if it did? One can only dream, right?

**BPOV – Age Eighteen**

Ahh…Graduation.

A day where we bid goodbye to our childhood and prepare to embark on the journey of self discovery in college. A day that seemed to be every parent's nightmare; one where they began to realise that their child was no longer a child anymore. That somehow, during the course of days and years gone by, they had grown up, even though at age four or five we had promised them that we would never grow up; that we would always remain their babies. A day when each student looked back on their high school career and evaluated whether they had had a good one or not and if not, why not.

For me, it was the day I realised that my school career had been marked by dreams. Each passing year had brought on more clarity on my dreams and on my feelings and each new realisation pressed upon my heart, branding it; marking it.

The other milestones that other students counted; such as homecoming, prom and sexual awakening had only become known to me in the last year. I wasn't popular by any means, but I wasn't a nobody either. I had dated some and I had (regretfully) lost my virginity on prom night last year. My boyfriend at the time had funnily enough been Mike Newton. I know, I know, why? Honestly, I have no clue. The poor boy had spent countless years pursuing me that I finally gave him a shot. What a mistake that had been.

We dated for about six months and we lost our virginity to each other at our junior prom. It hurt like hell and he came after just three pumps. The jerk didn't even ask if I was ok afterwards or if I needed to get off either. Suffice to say, we didn't last very long after that night.

My next sexual encounter was a drunken night after a party for the hockey team. My partner was the star player on the team and proved to be a bit of a gentleman. Tyler Crowley actually was quite sweet and made sure I got mine before he got his, but it still wasn't something I would brag about. It was nice, but nothing like the mind blowing experience that most girls raved about. I simply didn't see the draw of sex. Maybe it was just me. Maybe there was something wrong with me that I didn't enjoy sex as much as they next girl. I don't know.

The funniest thing is though, I felt incredibly guilty after each time. I felt as if I had gone behind my prince's back and I didn't like that feeling. Did this mean that I could never have sex unless I found him? Not that I minded; like I said, it wasn't a mind blowing experience for me anyway but still, never is a very long time to abstain.

"Hey Baby Sis! You ready to graduate?" my brother's booming voice came from downstairs.

Emmett had graduated last year and was currently attending NYU on a football scholarship. He had driven home to attend my graduation, which was today. I had told him that it wasn't necessary, but he refused to listen and came home anyway. Dad had also taken a day off from the office to attend but Renee had given some excuse or another as to why she couldn't attend. It seemed that her new husband's client brunch was more important to her than her own daughter's graduation. Good to know where I stood in her life, right?

I trooped down the stairs and grabbed my cap and gown from the table in the foyer. Thankfully our school had chosen sensible colours for our graduation attire. The gown was a royal blue colour and the cap was the same colour. Some students had complained about the colour but I didn't mind it so much; I actually like blue.

"Sure am. Let's go get my diploma." I grinned up at my brother.

"C'mon, Dad's gonna meet us there. He had to stop into his office to drop off one of the files he brought home last night." Em said as he slung an arm around my shoulders and leading me out the front door.

We arrived at the school and found parking in the quickly filling lot. It wasn't too far from the entrance so Em was pleased that his prized possession, his jeep, would be close by to him. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him as he stroked the dashboard and spoke on a soft voice, telling his 'baby' that he would be back soon. Idiot.

I stepped out of the monster jeep and donned my cap and gown before bidding him goodbye and making my way towards where all of the students were scrambling to line up for the procession. I took my place in the S's as the teacher called order to the lines. Excited chatter filled the air around me as I looked back on my years at high school and come to the conclusion that I had grown and matured by leaps and bounds. I had never been like my classmates and honestly, didn't really want to be but it was a nostalgic feeling to think back on those years while looking around me at the people I had spent more than half my time with on a weekly basis. No matter where I went in life, high school would always be a time remembered with fondness. This was where life was simple; with no worries of money, jobs, and general life. However hard most people consider high school to be; I was mature enough to admit that it was a damn sight easier than facing the big bad world.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N - Oops...My bad. I kinda forgot to update over the weekend! Time flies and all that jazz, ya know?**  
**Okay, we're getting close to the all important first meeting, so stay with me and don't forget to let me know what you guys think.**

**Without further babbling...Here's Chapter Six. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**Angel of Destiny POV**

I have watched these two souls grow up over the last twenty years and I have to say; they turned out beautifully. The other Angels had argued that they may not appreciate the dreams I had given them but they each handled them with a grace and maturity that was unparalleled by any other soul I had ever come across. At aged thirteen the two of them begun to realise that the dreams were in fact their memories. That is something that has hardly ever happened before.

They have another year left before they are destined to meet and I have one more play to make. Once the destined time is upon them I will have to reveal myself to them. The foreseers have seen that their meeting will be an emotional one for them, and will need to be handled with care lest they walk away as I do know that they are both questioning if the same fate will befall them this time as it has done each and every time before them. They will be told of their fate but I have been ordered to give them a choice. It is the only way for them to finally fulfil their destiny. If the choice is not given, they could likely walk away for fear of losing each other in death again. They would sacrifice their love to save one another. This is what the foreseers have seen and I cannot allow that to happen. It is not their fate; it is not their destiny.

**EPOV – Age Twenty**

Classes have been kicking my ass. Don't get me wrong, I love college life, but I really do need a break. Thank God for spring break. I could kiss the person who invented that little gem. Life at Berkley has been an eye opener for me. Living away from home, relying on solely myself to do things has only served to mature me further. My nature is still the same; I am still quiet and serious, but I do make a more concentrated effort to make friends and go out. After all, how often in life will I get to be young?

Actually, considering my past it would appear the answer to that is several times. In this one lifetime, I have lived and died in five others on a nightly basis. Makes you wonder about life doesn't it?

I have kept to my vow of celibacy. I have not had sex with another girl in nearly two years, my last time being with Amanda and in all honesty, I don't miss it much. Sure, I still have orgasms, albeit at my own hand and to the images of my angel, but orgasms nonetheless. Most of the girls in my class have come to realise that no matter what they do to garner my attentions, I will not give them the time of day. That doesn't mean that they have refrained from making advances. College girls, or rather women, are a hell of a lot more aggressive in their attacks than the girls from high school.

One girl actually walked right up to me during my first semester and kissed me while she palmed my cock. I was so surprised that I simply stood there in shock, not responding. She pulled away not long after and gave me an incredulous look as she realised that a) I wasn't kissing her back and b) my body had not responded to her in any way and my cock was not hard at her touch. She had stormed off muttering something about 'all the best looking one's have to be gay'. Jasper got a good laugh out of that moment. The fucker teased me mercilessly for weeks after and still does on occasion.

As if someone up there was listening to my prayers and pleas, both Alice and Jasper got into Berkley with me. Jasper was taking the same courses as me as we had both chosen to do our degree Psychology. I had chosen a minor in Music Composition and his minor was in History. Don't ask me why, he couldn't even give me straight answer on his choice either. Rose had been accepted at NYU and was also in her second year of her degree in International Law. Lord only knows what she wants to do with that degree after. I told her she should have just gone into Pre-Law and be done with it; she told me to 'fucking mind my own business'. Eh, we have a love-hate relationship what can I say? We love to hate each other.

Apparently, she's met a guy there and has been dating him for around six months now. I think she said his name was Emmett or something and she seems to be extremely smitten with him. Good luck to him. I know exactly what he has to put up with. Rose can be a class A bitch when she wants to and trust me, she wants to a daily basis!

Anyway, back to my life. My dreams have continued, though they seemed to have delved deeper into the lives. On several occasions I have dreamt of Andorra, Annabelle, Grace, Aurora and Rosa all in one night. And in the last year, the dreams have shifted to another period. This one seems to be in Russia. I am the Tsar's son Prince Aron and she is the princess of a rival royal family, Anna. We end up dying during a Ball, killed and betrayed by the Royal Advisor in a fit of jealous rage. He was in love with her and was incensed when she chose me and not him.

But the most recent dream has been the most intriguing. It seems to be in present time. It's the same girl but in our time. She is still beautiful and still the same, but I see her walking around campus here. I find this odd because I have not seen her during my waking hours, despite searching the face of every dark haired girl and yet my dreams of her are just as vivid as those of the ones of our past.

The other fact that I found strange and was surprised to learn was that in each life, we have always parted with words and promises of seeing each other again, never goodbye. It wasn't me that caught this fact; it was Alice. She pointed it out to me last week and I was shocked to realise that she was right and even more shocked that I had not picked up on it before myself. In the last dream, just before I watched her eyes close for the final time, she whispered to me:

'_Find me in heaven, I'll be there waiting for you. Come back to me soon, my love.'_

'Come back to me' that's the second time she has said those words to me. The first was when I left her on that life raft on the Titanic. I had promised her then that I would always come back to her. Could I keep that promise? How many times more would I have to hear her say those words to me? How many more times would I have to watch her be taken from me; either by my own death or hers? It's got to a point now that I'm not sure I can handle losing her again. In the last twelve years, I have lost her countless time by reliving those moments over and over again. How much more can I take?

This new dream was wreaking havoc on my daily life. Every time I caught sight of a dark haired girl out of the corner of my eye, my head snapped round to see if it was my angel and my friends were beginning to question my sanity. The only people who didn't were Alice and Jasper. They had never questioned me or my mind; they had simply accepted what I told them. Of course it helped that I had research to back up my claims for the most part, but generally they didn't question me. Even now when I described my latest dreams to them, they simply listened. Alice actually offered to do a sketch of her and post it in the student lounges and in the corridors. I refused, citing that I would just look like an idiot. If she was in fact here on this same campus, then I had to trust fate to bring her to me and if I had learned anything from the last twelve years of dreams; fate had a way of doing things and you couldn't rush it.

Despite my resolve not to do anything, I was still impatient. I wanted to see her, to meet her, to talk to her and to actually touch her for real.

Spring break was a welcome distraction. I flew home to see Mom and Dad with Alice and Jasper in tow with almost an unbearable amount of thankfulness. As we landed at O'Hare International Airport, I tried to contain my sister's excited bouncing, but nothing seemed to deter her. She was looking forward to this trip home as much as I was. I missed home. I missed my parents and I missed the familiarity of the city I had grown up in.

"Edward! Alice! Jasper!" I spotted my mother waving her arms over her head to catch our attention and we all chuckled.

My darling mother stood at an impressive 5'2" and she thought she could see over the tops of people's heads by miraculously jumping up and down. Watching her bounce up and down now, it was no wonder my sister was so hyper. She got it from Mom. I got my quiet nature from Dad. But then, where Alice got her height from Mom, I got mine from Dad and then that is where it stopped. I had my mother's colouring and Alice had her features. Though my hair and eye colour came from Mom, my features were my Dad's. We both had strong angular jaws and straight noses, whereas Mom and Alice shared round heart shaped faces with cute button noses. We were an odd bunch, but it worked for us.

"Hey Mom!" I said as I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist and picked her off of the ground, spinning her in a circle making her laugh.

"Edward! Put me down!" she squealed, still laughing as she slapped my shoulder lightly.

"You look gorgeous as always, Mom." I said lovingly.

"Oh stop flattering me; you'll still get your favourite dinner." Mom replied as she cupped my cheek and giving me a motherly smile.

"Merely stating a fact, Mom." I smiled back at her. She chuckled and pulled away from me and towards her daughter.

Once we had collected our bags we left the airport and piled into Mom's Mercedes. She and Dad had bought matching Mercedes last year and we had teased them about it relentlessly. We told them that they were just a few steps shy of buying matching jumpsuits now to which they replied that they already had a set. What could we say to that?

We chatted about our schooling and about Mom's business as we sped through the familiar streets of Chicago towards our childhood house. We dropped Jasper off at his house on the way, promising to meet up with him tomorrow once we had all had a chance to rest and catch up with our families. Rose had opted to stay in New York and was going home with her boyfriend to meet his family, who lived on the Upper East Side so it would just be Jasper and his Mom. Mom invited Jasper and his Mom round for dinner for the next night and Jasper said he would check with Charlotte and get back to her.

I headed straight for my room when we got home and flopped down on my bed, dropping my bags on the floor beside it. I lay there and thought back to all the times I had been in here over the years. I closed my eyes to savour the feeling of being home and found myself drifting off to sleep.

_She sat on a blanket spread on the grass in the park and pulled out a battered copy of _Romeo and Juliet_. Her beautiful mahogany hair shone in the sunlight, her red highlights coming out in the light. She ran her fingers through her hair and pursed her ruby red lips as she thumbed through the pages. Not five minutes later she dropped the book and sighed heavily. She lay back on the blanket beneath her and closed her eyes._

"_My prince, where are you? Do you even exist? Who will you be in this lifetime? I have so much to share with you and I ache for the day you arrive in my life. Will it be soon?" she whispered._

_She quieted and seemed to drift off into sleep, her last whispered words:_

'_Come back to me, my love."_

I jerked awake and abruptly sat up, my heart racing in my chest. It was her. My angel. I could actually feel that familiar electricity that I always associated with her. But she was neither a princess nor a high class lady; she was simply a girl, laying in the park dreaming. Dreaming of…Me.

**BPOV – Age Twenty**

I was home for spring break and loving it. It had been nearly five months since I had been home and seen my Dad or Emmett and if I was completely honest, I was looking forward to a week of relaxation before I had to get back to the grind stone. My courses at Berkley were kicking my ass something rotten. I had chosen to go into Pre-Law and I had, on some level of stupidity, decided to pick up two extra classes this semester in order to take one less next year.

Despite this, I loved my classes and my life at college. Angela and I had somehow lucked out and gotten dorm rooms next to each other. Our room mates were nice girls too, so we were lucky on that account too. My room mate last year had been an exchange student from Japan and though she was really nice girl, there was the small matter of a language barrier, so we hadn't spoken much the entire year. Angela and I were currently talking about getting an apartment for our junior year together off campus so we had started to look at a few places. So far we hadn't found anything we liked. Angela's father was a pastor at our local church and her mother was school teacher so she didn't have a lot of money to play with. I had offered to pay for most of the rent as I could afford it, but she refused. She wanted to go fifty-fifty so that meant our options were limited.

As for other things, besides my studies that kept me awake at night, there were my dreams. The last year I had been dreaming of Russia in late 1800's, more namely the Imperial Family. My prince was the Tsar's son, Prince Aron and I was Princess Anna. You can guess how those dreams ended. The very last one I had was just after Winter Break. It too resulted in not only my death, but his too. I was thankful for the small measure that I had died mere moments before him as I really didn't want to watch him die again. Seeing him go down with the Titanic was bad enough.

Since I returned to college after Winter Break, my dreams had changed again and these new ones surprised me to no end. I seemed to be dreaming of him in present times now. On several occasions, I had dreamt of him walking around campus and it was playing with my mind now. I constantly caught myself looking for him in the crowd. Every tall guy was him until I actually saw them and found that their hair colour didn't match or their eye colour was all wrong and then I laughed at myself for being so ridiculous.

I spread out my blanket on a patch of grass in Central Park and sat down, pulling out my old copy of _Romeo and Juliet_. I thumbed through the pages to find the page where I had last left off and then frowned as I realised that the sun was so bright that I couldn't actually see the words properly on the page. I had forgotten my sunglasses at home. I sighed and dropped the book onto the blanket beside me. I lay back onto the blanket and shut my eyes against the glare of the sun. I felt myself relax further into the ground and found myself whispering to my prince as I so often did these days.

"My prince, where are you? Do you even exist? Who will you be in this lifetime? I have so much to share with you and I ache for the day you arrive in my life. Will it be soon?"

Just before I slipped into a deeper sleep I whispered once again:

"Come back to me, my love"

_He was sitting on a bed in a light coloured room, staring at the wall in front of him a look of deep concentration on his beautiful face. He ran his fingers through his unruly hair and took a deep steadying breath._

_He stood from the bed and crossed the room to his desk. He sat down on the chair and pulled open the drawer. He pulled out a sheaf of papers and stared at the picture on it, tracing his fingers over the image; an image that I could not see clearly. His eyes held an emotion that I could not define. They seemed slightly…sad?_

"_I'll always come back to you, angel" he whispered to the image._

I bolted upright and frantically looked around. I could have sworn I felt him here with me almost as if he were watching me sleep. That surge of electricity I always felt at his touch seemed to pulse around me; pushing and pulling at me simultaneously, calling to me, to my senses and to my body.

I took a deep breath and lifted myself off of the ground. I picked my book up and stuffed it back into my bag and shook out the blanket before folding it and shoving that back into my bag too. I left the park and made my way back to my father's apartment building. He had recently purchased a penthouse apartment in the newly developed Belvedere Building in the Upper East Side. He still had the Estate in Manhattan where Emmett and I grew up but since Em was now at NYU and I was at Berkley on the other side of the country, he felt the six bedroom house was too large for him alone.

"Dad! Em! I'm home!" I called out as I stepped into the apartment.

"In the lounge, Baby Bell!" I heard Em call back.

I dropped my bag by the clothes closet door and carried on into the lounge.

"Hey, Em. Is Dad not home yet? I wanted to ask-"

I stopped in my tracks as I entered the lounge only to find Emmett sitting on the couch with his arm around a tall leggy blond. She was beyond beautiful. Blond wavy hair, ice blue eyes and a curvy body to boot. I immediately felt insignificant just by being in the same room as her. I relaxed as she gave me a small timid smile. This must be the girl Emmett is so gaga over. I stepped further into the room and smiled warmly at her.

"Hi, you must be Rosalie. I'm Bella, Emmett's sister." I said as I held out a hand for her to shake.

She stood from the couch and stepped towards me and hugged me gently, completely ignoring my hand. I was startled at first, but relaxed and hugged her back.

"Hi Bella. Call me Rose. It's nice to finally meet you." she said sweetly.

I found myself liking her immediately, despite her icy appearance which I had observed at first. I found her to be warm and inviting. I motioned her over to the couch and sat down in the loveseat opposite them.

"How's school, Bell?" Em asked.

"School is good. Busy. How about you? Mr. Hot Shot?" I teased.

"Hey, it's not my fault if I'm that good." Em exclaimed as he lifted his arm and kissed his bicep causing both Rose and me to snort.

"Okay, calm down there, big head." I replied, amused.

"What did you wanna ask Dad?" Em asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Huh? Oh! I just wanted to ask him what he wanted for dinner tonight." I answered after my little blank moment.

"Ahh…well, he's not home." Em stated. I rolled my eyes.

"No shit, Sherlock." I said sarcastically.

"Hey, watch you mouth, baby girl. What the hell are they teaching you at Berkley?" Em retorted.

"You go to Berkley?" Rose asked.

"Yeah. Pre-Law." I answered.

"Cool. My brother goes there." Rose said excitedly.

"Really. Maybe I know him. What's his name?" I asked.

"Jasper Hale. But he's studying Psychology so maybe you won't know him. After all, Berkley isn't exactly small." She smiled and I couldn't help but smile back.

"Em says you're studying International Law. Why not go directly into Pre-Law?" I asked curiously.

Rose laughed, "You sound just like my brother's best friend. He asked me the same thing." She chuckled.

"And what did you tell him?" I smirked and she smirked right back.

"I told him to mind his own fucking business." She replied

We burst into loud laughter. I could see why Em was so into her. She was not only beautiful, but soft spoken too. She had and initial icy appearance, but once you started talking to her she was actually quite fun. I liked her. I covertly shot Em a thumbs up and a wink to tell him that I approved and he beamed at me.

The week flew by too fast for my liking and I found myself back on a plane heading back to Berkley. I leaned back in my seat and shoved my iPod earphones into my ears as soon as it was safe to do so. I spent the flight back to California lost in my music, ignoring the flight attendants when they came around offering drinks and food. My dreams had not ceased whilst I was in NYC. In fact they grew more vivid in detail with each passing night. Last night's dream had been my favourite by far.

**Flashback**

_He slowly moved into a dark room and stopped just inside the double doors. He flicked on the lights to reveal a beautiful room with the most amazing piano I had ever seen sitting dead centre in the room. He made is way to the piano and reverently trailed his fingers over the smooth black finish before sitting on the bench and lifting the lid to reveal the ivory keys. He ran his long, elegant fingers across the keys, eliciting a soft tinkling sound._

_He sat for a long moment simply staring at the keys and then placed his hands on them and began to play. The tune was so haunting, so beautiful that I felt tears prick my eyelids. It rose in cadence to a torturous pace, sounding almost anguished in its intensity. It was a plea and prayer and the sound of a lover begging his love to stay with him._

_The tune shifted to a softer note, sweet and calming in its influence. This was the lover speaking to his beloved, sharing his love for her, showing her how much she meant to him. It was the lover telling her that she was his whole world and that she owned him, body, heart and soul._

_The melody rose again and again before it finally drifted off into the silence of the room leaving only his ragged breaths._

"_That was simply beautiful, son." I heard a smooth voice say from off to the side of the room._

"_Thanks Dad." My prince replied softly._

"_Recent composition?" the voice asked again._

"_Yeah. It's been playing on my mind for weeks now." My prince said, running his fingers through his hair._

"_Does it have a name yet?" my prince nodded._

"_Sort of." He answered._

"_Ahh…so it's for her?" his father asked gently._

"_Yes."_

"_What did you call it?"_

"_Angel's Lullaby."_

"_Why that?"_

"_Because she is my angel."_

**End Flashback**

The lullaby played on my mind on a continued loop and I found myself humming it constantly. It truly was a beautifully written piece and I ached to hear him play it again but the only way that would happen is if I dreamt of him again. The thought of not hearing the lullaby again, my lullaby, saddened me beyond belief and almost reduced me to tears.

I landed at Oakland International at 6pm and eventually made it to my dorm room by 8pm. I was exhausted and barely managed to change into my pajamas and brush my teeth before I collapsed on my bed and fell into a deep sleep. I sent a small prayer up to the heavens that I would hear him play again tonight just as sleep overtook me.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Carlisle POV**

I listened to my son play his piano and felt the pain deep in my heart. Alice had warned me that his dreams had changed again and the new ones were a source of extreme confusion for him. Now as I stood in the doorway of the music room I understood exactly what she meant. I waited until he finished playing before making myself known. The piece he played was amazing and strong in the intensity of his emotion. This was my son, pouring his heart out on his piano.

When he had first come to me at aged fifteen and told me of his dreams, I had - for a brief moment - wondered if he was acting out or seeking attention. I knew that I hadn't been around much whilst my children grew up, but he had never been one to purposely draw attention to himself. He was shy as a young child, but lost that as he grew older. Now he wasn't shy, but he still was a quiet character. He was hard working and Esme and I had never had any trouble from him, not that we had any from Alice either but where she was a naturally exuberant person, her twin was her opposite; he was calm and quiet, almost too mature for his age.

Once he showed us his journals and the research he had done, I started to think about the possibilities of reincarnation. How could I not? Every one of his journal entries described things which he should not even know about; much less dream them at night. I did some of my own research too and finally came to the conclusion that my first theory was correct. This was the theory of reincarnation at work.

As the grandson of a pastor, I was taught about such things, but over the years of studying medicine I had started to push those teachings to the back of my mind. Watching my son grow up and reading his journal entries I brought those teaching back to the forefront and started to believe them. I couldn't help but believe them; I was watching them play out in my own home!

If the teachings, research and his dreams were any indication, it was entirely possible that this woman existed in this time too. After all if every soul is made with its perfect match in each life, why wouldn't she exist in this one if he does? This thought humbled me in its entirety and made my respect for my grandfather's teachings grow exponentially.

The music drifted off into the silence of the room and I could hear his ragged breathing, accelerated from the sheer emotion he had just poured out onto those keys.

"That was simply beautiful, son." I spoke softly so as not alarm him.

"Thanks Dad." He replied quietly.

"Recent composition?" I asked with interest.

"Yeah. It's been playing on my mind for weeks now." My son answered, running his fingers through his hair, his back still turned to me.

"Does it have a name yet?" he nodded.

"Sort of." He answered.

"Ahh…so it's for her?" I asked gently. I knew and he knew who I was asking about.

"Yes."

"What did you call it?" I wondered.

"Angel's Lullaby." He answered immediately

"Why that?" I was truly curious on this.

"Because she is my angel." He said simply, as if it explained it all.

I watched as he hunched over the keys, almost as if protecting the notes he had just played on them. With a jolt I realised that he loved her. He didn't know her and he loved her. My son had never even met this woman and yet he was in love with her. How could I have not seen this before? Even when he spoke of her in his dreams, his eyes would light up and you could feel the love pouring off of him in waves. The song he had just played portrayed his every emotion so clearly and yet I still had not seen it.

I moved further into the room and placed my hand on his shoulder. He drew a ragged breath and released it slowly, his shoulders sagging even more. He turned his head and looked up at me and I was shocked to find unshed tears glistening in his eyes.

"Oh son…" I breathed and sat down on the bench beside him and pulled him into a hug.

I sat there for several long moments, holding my son close to my chest as I felt his silent tears stream down his face and onto my shirt, wetting it. He finally inhaled and exhaled a long breath and pulled back from arms and sat up straight, wiping his eyes and face.

"You want to talk about it?" I asked gently.

"Yes." Edward croaked, his voice cracking from the emotions.

"Same dreams or have they changed again?" I prodded.

"New ones. Totally and absolutely new ones." He replied, his gaze dropping to his hands.

I waited quietly. If there was anything I knew about my son, it was that he would begin speaking once he had all his thoughts in order and not a moment sooner than that. He had always been a mature and deep soul and I wondered if that was because his soul was in fact old. He took another deep breath and began.

"They changed again about four months ago, only this time it's not a past life I see. It's her, but in our time. I see her walking around campus, carrying books. In the park, sitting on a blanket reading. In her dorm, writing. Hell, I've even seen her in the bathroom getting ready for bed! And each and every night, she speaks to me, or rather, the past me's. Prince Taos, Prince Eric, Andrew, all of them, they are all me! And she speaks to them, asking the same thing each time: 'Where are you? Do you exist? Will I see you soon? Will I lose again this time too?' it's torturous! It's frustrating because I can't actually answer! I so badly want to answer her, to talk to her, to hold her, touch her, kiss her…I…I…" he broke off suddenly and dropped his head into his hands. I still said nothing. I knew he wasn't done yet.

"I need her. I can't explain it, I just need her. I feel her. I feel her in my heart and in every pore of my body and each dream is serving to grow the ache inside me." he whispered, his voice thick with tears.

I wrapped my arms around him and held him tightly as he sobbed again, but this time his sobs were loud and wracked his entire body. I felt my own eyes prick with tears at seeing my son in so much pain. I glanced up to see my wife and daughter standing in the doorway, their arms wrapped around each other and tears flowing down their beautiful faces. Their eyes held shared pain; pain for Edward. Pain I felt acutely myself.

"S-she always asks me to c-come b-back to her and I've always p-promised that I-I would always come b-back to her but h-how do I keep that p-promise when every other time I have f-failed." He stammered out through his sobs. I merely held him tighter in response because I had no answer for him.

Was there anything I could say to make it better for him? Aside from finding his dream girl, his soul mate for him, was there anything I could do to take the pain away from him?

No. no there wasn't. I knew that and it killed me to realise it.

**EPOV – Age Twenty**

After my breakdown in the music room, Dad and I stayed up late talking about my angel and my options. We didn't get very far because we soon realised that short of launching a nationwide search for her with only her picture, there was nothing we could de but wait. However, it did help some to talk about it. I spend most of my life hiding it all inside me, despite having had sporadic discussions about it with my family and best friend about it, I hadn't ever discussed it in the lengths that we did that night. It felt good.

The weeks after spring break flew by in a blur as we started to wind down for summer. Finals were just around the corner and the entire campus was a hum of tense activity as every student walked around with several heavy books going to and from the library, study session and their regular classes. To say we were all stressed would be an understatement.

I had just left my Social Studies class when I heard a humming. The tune was so familiar and I knew immediately what it was; it was my song, her song. I whipped my head round to try and catch the person humming it but I couldn't see due to the sheer mass of bodies pressing against me in the hallway. The humming moved further away from me and I frantically searched every face in the crowd. It was her lullaby they were humming and I was part furious and part curious as to how they could know of this song. After all I had only ever played it once and that was at my parent's house in Chicago.

I spun around and searched the crowd behind me, pushing my way through the bodies to try and follow the sound. I struggled against the tide as I heard Jasper shout my name from behind me. I could feel her. I could feel that electric pulse pulling me towards her and I followed it blindly, forgetting all else.

"Edward! Edward, man, what the hell? Wait up! Where are you going? Analytical Studies is this way, dude!"

I didn't stop, I continued on as I pushed each person out of my way. I emerged out the doors into the warm sunshine and looked around. The humming was gone; vanished as if it were just in my imagination and so was the pulse. As I realised this, my head dropped onto my chest and I drew in a ragged breath. I was still standing there when Jasper caught up with several minutes later, out of breath from having to face the same struggle I did.

"E, man, what the fuck was all that about?" he panted as he bent over and placed his hands on his knees.

"I…I think it was her. She was humming her lullaby." I whispered.

"Her what?" he asked, still a little breathless.

I slowly shook my head and turned back to face him. I smirked as I caught sight of his reddened face.

"Dude you need to hit the gym. Look at you, you're so out of shape you can't even breath!" I chortled.

"Fuck you. I haven't the time for gym. You know these classes are whipping my ass." He retorted.

"Yeah, they're whipping mine too, but I still make time for a good workout at least twice a week."

I clapped my hand on his shoulder and made my way back in. if we didn't hurry we would be late to class so I dragged Jasper in with me by his collar.

That night I dreamt of her again. Not only dreamt, but I spoke to her too.

_I watched as she lay in her bed, tossing and turning. She continued to do so for a long while until finally I couldn't take her stress any longer. It hurt me to see her this way. I silently moved towards her bed and knelt down by her sweet face. I lifted my hand and ghosted my fingers across her cheek, brushing her soft hair back, feeling the familiar electric shock go through me at the touch of her skin. She sighed and settled down immediately, a small smile gracing her succulent lips._

"_Sleep, my angel. Dream sweet dreams. I'm here, baby. I'll always be here. I promise to always come back to you, No matter where you are, I will always find you." I crooned softly to her._

_She relaxed even further and slipped into a deep sleep. I left her there as I returned to my own bed after placing a gentle kiss upon her forehead.._

I awoke the next morning with the tingling in my fingers where I had touched her face and her sweet strawberry scent in my nostrils. I couldn't shake the smile from my face even if I tried. I was elated, exultant and undeniable happy to have been able to touch her again. now if only I could actually find her in the flesh, I would be complete.

**BPOV – Age Twenty**

I felt him. I know I felt him. Twice. The first time was just after my Analytical Studies class, one of the extras I had taken this semester to bump up my credits. I was walking through the halls, weaving in and out of the throng of student bodies, trying to get to my next class on time on the other side of the campus when I felt him. That electricity pulsed right through my entire body. I had been humming my lullaby and the force of that electricity halted all of my senses for a moment. I searched the crowded hallway with my eyes to see if I could find him, but to no avail. There were simply too many bodies. I finally gave up as I spotted the time on the clock tower in the courtyard. I had less than ten minutes to get to my Creative Arts class (another extra) or I would be late. So I filed away this moment for later perusal and rushed out of the Psychology building and towards the Arts building.

The second time was in my sleep. I was restless for a long while as I couldn't turn my mind off from my strange occurrence this afternoon. I tossed and turned in my bed until I felt him again. I felt him move towards my bed and then I felt his fingertips brush across my cheek lightly as he pushed my hair back, the tingly feeling intense at his close proximity, calming me instantly. And then he spoke, his smooth velvet voice wrapping around me in a soft caress, calming me further.

"_Sleep, my angel. Dream sweet dreams. I'm here, baby. I'll always be here. I promise to always come back to you, No matter where you are, I will always find you." he crooned softly in my ear, his warm breath washing over me, pulling me under into the deep vestiges of sleep._

_I felt him move away from me after placing a gentle, loving kiss on my forehead._

I awoke the next morning fully rested and gloriously happy. I hummed my lullaby as I prepared myself for the day ahead, smiling the entire time. By the time I stepped out of my room and bumped into Angela as she was coming out her room next to mine. She stopped and stared at me, her head tilted to the side in confusion.

"What has you so happy this morning, B?" she asked curiously.

"He spoke to me last night. For the first time in months he spoke directly to me!" I explained giddily.

"Seriously?" Angela asked in an excited tone.

"Yep." I replied , popping the 'p'.

"What did he say?" she said as she linked her arm in mine and led me down the hallway.

"Sleep, my angel. Dream sweet dreams. I'm here, baby. I'll always be here. I promise to always come back to you, No matter where you are, I will always find you." I stated proudly.

Angela stopped in her tracks and stared at me open mouthed.

"Wow…" she whispered in an awed tone. I nodded in agreement.

We set off to our classes, separating in the main quad as she was headed to the English Literature building and I was aiming for the Psyche building. My day passed quickly in a haze of lectures and study aides for the finals. I finally emerged from the Psyche building at 4pm and headed straight for the library for my study last group session of the day.

As soon as I entered the library, I felt him again. I whipped my head round to search for him, but I could not see him. Was he really here, or was I merely dreaming again?

**EPOV**

I spent most of the morning in the library and only left to grab some lunch with Alice and Jasper. Alice was in a mind spin over her upcoming finals and kept jabbering away on how much work she had to do in prep. Jasper and I listened to her amusedly, exchanging smirks and coverts grins.

Once lunch was over, Jasper and I left Alice and returned to the library together, chatting lightly about the work we had yet to complete in prep for our own exams. I learned that Jasper had actually done a bit more than I had, but I wasn't extremely worried. I knew I had time and I also knew that my almost perfect recall memory afforded me some luxuries.

We grabbed a table and quickly set to work on quizzing each other in Social Behaviour. I beat him by two questions and teased him about it mercilessly. I got up from the table to hunt down a book that the professor had recommended to me in my Methods of Research class. I was browsing the section for the title when I felt her. That pull on my heart and that pulsing electricity. I felt it as clearly as if she was stood right beside me.

I whipped my head round and scanned the room. I could see some of it but not all, but I knew she was here. Could I find her? Would she look like my angel from all of dreams? I rushed back to the table and grabbed my cell. I had taken a picture of the announcement photo of Annabelle's engagement to James and had it stored in my files.

"E, man, what's wrong?" Jasper asked as he took in my half excited, half panicked expression.

"She's here. I can feel her." I mumbled as I continued to scan the room at large.

The pull was there, but I couldn't follow it for some reason. I couldn't decipher where it was coming from. I stood there for several long moments deciding what to do when all of a sudden my phone rang in my hand.

"Hello?" I muttered into it absently.

"Edward? Son, are you busy?" I heard my father's soothing voice.

"Uh…not really?" I answered, though it sounded more like a question.

"Son, I need you and Ali home on the next flight. Your Mom needs you." he said in a sombre tone which immediately caught my attention.

"What's going on Dad? Is Mom ok?" I demanded.

"Her father, your grandfather is in hospital, son." He hesitated and then continued, "He's not expected to last through the night. His heart is too damaged." He finished in a quiet tone.

"Shit." I murmured as I rubbed my hand down my face.

"Mmhm…look I know you kids have your finals in two weeks, but your Mom needs you both right now. Can you come home for the weekend at least?" Dad asked.

"Of course, Dad. I'll grab Ali, then some clothes. Can you book us on the next flight out of Oakland and send the details to my phone, please?" I assured him.

"Will do, son. And Edward?" he said.

"Yeah Dad?" I replied.

"Thank you, son. I love you." his voice had gone even more quiet and sad.

"No need for thanks, Dad. He's our grandfather. And I love you too. We'll see you soon, ok?" I answered in an equally quiet tone.

We said our goodbyes and Dad assured me he would send our flight details to my phone within the next 15 minutes. I quickly explained the situation to Jasper, who immediately offered to come with us but I told him to stay put and collect any notes I may miss whilst I was in Chicago and with that I packed up and left, only hesitating briefly at the library doors to savour the feel of my angel before I rushed out, dialling Alice as I went.

We landed in Chicago at 10pm local time, barley having made our flight back at Oakland. Alice and I had only packed a carry on bag each as we had spare clothes in our rooms back at home, so we had no need to wait in the baggage claim area. We hailed a taxi outside the terminal and sped towards the hospital, holding hands tightly in a gesture of comfort for one another.

Grandpa Ethan was a gentle man, much like our mother. He had always loved Alice and me with a fierce devotion and constantly attempted to spoil us when we were growing up. He always had the best stories and jokes, always making us laugh about something or other. If we lost him, it would a great loss to our family.

We made it to the hospital within half an hour. A pretty good feat considering the traffic in downtown Chicago, even at this late hour. Alice and I rushed into the main entrance and approached the desk to ask for information.

"Ethan Platt, please?" I asked the nurse politely, doing my best to ignore her obvious perusal of me.

"Yes. One moment, please." She clicked away the keyboard for a few seconds and then turned back to us, "Room 313 in the Cardio ward. Third floor." We thanked her and rushed to the elevators.

As we stepped out onto the Cardio ward, we heard a high keening sound and I immediately recognised it as my grandmother. I tugged on Alice's hand and all but ran to room 313. The sight that greeted me when we entered would forever be etched on my mind.

Our mother was huddled on the floor by the end of the bed, one hand clutching the blankets above her and the other her heart, she was shaking with the force of her sobs. Our Grandmother was draped over Grandpa's body, hugging and shaking him simultaneously, pleading with him not to leave her or to take her with him. Our father was crouched on the floor, holding our mother tightly in his arms, tears streaming down his face.

We were too late to say goodbye. Grandpa was gone.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N - The all important first meeting, folks! Hope you like it.**

**Thank to all those who have reviewed so far. If I haven't replied individually to your review as yet, please don't be mad. RL has been hectic right now, but I do appreciate every single review.**

**Now...on with the show...**

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

**Angel of Destiny POV**

It's time. In the last year I have slowly opened their connection to each other whilst simultaneously keeping it on a tight leash. I knew they would be able to feel each other when in close proximity, but I had to keep the connection scrambled so that they would not follow the pull to each too early. That would be simply disastrous.

It had been a very close call last year in the library and I was sorry to have to use the services of Gabriel, The Angel of Death much sooner than I would have liked. Ethan Platt was a wonderful man and though his time was already coming to a close when I called in the favour, I was still sad to have to do it, even if the time came 48 hours sooner than it should have. I had needed to get my charge out of there; he was too close to finding her. I had the connection scrambled some, but even I could feel how intense the pull was and it was taking all of my power to hold him back.

This connection is nothing like I have ever dealt with before; it is far more powerful than even I could have imagined and I am the one who holds their destiny!

Tonight, my young charge turns 21 years old. Tonight, I shall visit them. Tonight, I bring them into a dream together; face to face for the first time. It's time to show them their destiny. It's time for them to make a choice.

**BPOV – Age Twenty One**

My birthday has never been something I like to celebrate. Why should I? When it was my birth that caused the downward spiral of my parent's marriage? Okay, so I know that isn't true in a real sense, but still. I hate celebrating my birthday. I hate all the fuss. That still didn't stop my Dad and my brother from flying up to see me and take me out for dinner.

To tell the truth, I enjoyed spending time with them. I do miss them something fierce and it also helped that Emmett brought Rose with him. She and I had the best time beating my brother in a couple games of pool after said dinner while Dad went to meet up with an old college buddy of his that lived in Malibu. Of course Emmett sulked like a big baby when he lost four games out of five to Rose and me, but that didn't stop us from teasing him mercilessly. Like I said, it was fun. No fuss, just the way I like it.

Angela, her boyfriend Ben and Tara, my room mate from last year ended up meeting us at the bar to help me drink legally. We didn't get rat assed drunk per say, but we were definitely merry by the end of the night. It was the most amount of fun I had had in a long time.

My dreams in the last year have evolved to hearing my prince talk to me nightly. I sometimes find myself responding to him too and since Angela and I now share an apartment off of campus, she constantly teases me about my 'sleep talking'. She seems to have heard several conversations, albeit one sided to her, between my prince and me and has even gone so far as to quote some of the things I have said in my sleep to him! Bitch.

As I stumbled into my room, half drunk and half sober after a wonderful night with my brother and friends, I wondered if I would see my prince again tonight. I sure hoped so. I missed him. That pulse I feel around him is always strong, whether I am awake or not. I have felt him around campus on several occasions, but for some unknown reason I have always been unable to pinpoint where it is coming from despite the pull towards it. Thus meaning, I have not yet been able to see him in the flesh. Sucks ass, let me tell you. I really want to be able to follow that pull towards him. I want to be able to hold him again; I miss the feel of him in my arms. Maybe that sounds crazy, seeing as I have never actually felt him for real, but hey, this is me we're talking about; you know, the girl who dreams about her past lives and loves and has done for the last thirteen years.

I shut my bedroom door and stripped out of the jeans and blue button top I had worn out this evening and went through my nightly routine in the bathroom before changing into my pyjama's and crawling into bed. Emmett and Rose were sleeping on the pull out bed in the living room and Angela; the drunken skunk had passed out on her bed around ten minutes ago. I pulled my covers over me slowly and as I did every night I whispered I quiet goodnight to my prince.

"I hope to see you tonight again, my prince. Goodnight, my love."

_I was standing in a large white room with a bright light shining in through the windows surrounding me. This was new. Whenever I dreamt at night of my prince, it was either in my room or his lately and this definitely was not his room and certainly was not mine either. I gazed around, trying to find a door that could lead me out of the room when I heard a sound behind me. I spun and came face to face with my prince, who was standing two feet behind me with an adorably confused expression on his beautiful face. His hair was rumpled more than usual, as if he had just rolled out of bed and he was wearing striped dark blue pyjama pants and a white t-shirt. He looked unbelievably sexy and I could feel the pulse surround me as his eyes locked with mine._

"_Angel? Where are we?" he asked, his head tilted to one side._

"_I have no idea. This is new" I answered._

_As if of our own accord we moved towards each other, following the pull. This was also new. In all the previous dreams I had of him in the present time, he had already been standing in front of me or knelt by my bed or I his, but this, this was totally new. We stopped in front of each other so that there was a bare inch between our bodies, I could feel the heat coming from him. He lifted his hand and stroked my face, leaving a tingly fire across my skin wherever his fingers touched._

"_Beautiful as always." He whispered, almost to himself._

_He tentatively reached across the minimal space between us and wrapped his arms around me, drawing me closer. Again, this was new. We had never been able to really feel each other in the dreams of the last two years. I had missed feeling him against me from the dreams of my past. I sighed in quiet relief as my body melted into his and I brought my arms up to wrap around his waist, hugging him to me._

"_This _is_ new." He murmured into my hair, where his face had taken residence._

"_Mmhm." I hummed back, enjoying the feel of him against me and the pulse that surrounded us._

"_Who are you tonight?" he asked in wonder._

"_Who I have always been." The answer came to me so easily, yet it was so cryptic that even I wondered at it._

"_Truth spoken, young one." I heard an angelic voice say from behind me._

_My prince released me, making me miss his warmth immediately and we both spun to face the newcomer. In all of my dreams, there had never been anyone else but my prince and I, so forgive me for being wary of this person._

"_You are forgiven, child." The lady said calmly._

_She was beyond beautiful. She was dressed in a long white robe of sorts, with gold piping down the front. Her hair was so light in colour that it actually glowed and her eyes were the most curious shade of blue that I had ever seen. They were even lighter that Rose's eyes and that was saying something. She was tall, taller than me, but not as tall as my prince. She looked like an angel._

"_That is because I am one." She said. I was startled. Could she hear my thoughts?_

"_Yes." she answered simply._

Oh…

_She smiled and her entire face lit up as if from within and if I thought she was beautiful before, it was nothing compared to how she looked now. However, benign she looked, I was still wary of her. She was after all interrupting my nightly time with my prince. I glanced over to him and found that he was not even looking at her, but at me; his expression was soft and loving, a small smile playing across his lips. I smiled back at him and his smile widened. He reached out one hand and I felt the pulse move as he did. I reached out my own hand and slipped it into his, my entire body relaxed and sighed in relief at his touch. _

_We turned back to the Angel and saw that she had been watching us with a soft smile on her face. I flushed in embarrassment, making her laugh. Her laugh was like the sound of tinkling bells and it sent warmth through me, relaxing me further._

"_Come, my young ones, let us sit and talk. There is much for me to tell you." she said in her soft lilting voice._

_It was only then that I noticed two white couches in the far right hand corner of the room. I could have sworn the room was bare before. We moved to the couches and sat down. I sat next to my prince and the angel sat on the one facing us. The couch was soft and plush, almost as if we were sitting on a cloud._

"_Mmhm" the angel hummed and I wondered briefly if it was in response to my observation of the couches. She nodded once._

Huh. Okay then.

"_Let us start, the night and your sleep will not last long and I have much I need to say to you both. I know who you are, who you were in the past and who you are now, but I also know that you do not know who the other is in this life, correct?" she paused as both my prince and I nodded._

"_I am The Angel of Destiny. I am the keeper of souls. I collect and distribute them as I write their destiny. Each soul's destiny is written long before they become souls. I have written yours and thus far it has played out exactly as it should. Your destinies were foreseen and written thousands of years ago. But before I go on, you each know the names of your past selves and of your love's past self, but you do not know the names of your present love, correct?"_

_We nodded again._

"_Good. It is as it should be then."_

"_I'm sorry, but why is that how it should be? Is it our destiny to be apart?" My prince cut in. The Angel smiled._

"_No, my child. It is not. Your destiny is to love one another."_

"_But, we have been torn apart each and every time! Is that in our destiny too? To love but never to keep it?" He demanded, his hand squeezing mine._

_The Angel sighed and leaned back further into the sofa. She regarded us for a long moment and then took a deep breath._

"_Your destiny was foretold as such: 'Six times they shall meet, six times they shall love, six times they shall lose." She paused._

_My prince and I looked at one another, our expressions showing identical pain. So we would always lose? We would always lose one another? How is that- … Hang on! She said SIX times…I counted back to my dreams in my head as the Angel sat and simply watched us._

_1st dream – Taos and Andorra_

_2nd dream – Eric and Annabelle_

_3rd dream – Andrew and Grace_

_4th dream – Emanuel and Rosa_

_5th dream – Marius and Aurora_

_6th dream – Aron and Anna_

_That's six. But then that means…._

"_Seventh they shall win…" The Angel finished._

**EPOV – Age Twenty One**

"_Your destiny was foretold as such: 'Six times they shall meet, six times they shall love, six times they shall lose…" She paused._

_I looked down at my angel, my heart clenching in pain and I heard what the Angel of Destiny was saying. We would lose. We would always lose. We would…wait…what? Did she say six times? But that…I thought back to all of my dreams from the last thirteen years and counted each life I had lived. I counted once, twice, three times and then looked up._

_1st – Taos and Andorra_

_2nd – Eric and Annabelle_

_3rd – Andrew and Grace_

_4th – Emanuel and Rosa_

_5th – Marius and Aurora_

_6th – Aron and Anna_

_That's six. But then that means…._

"_Seventh they shall win…" The Angel finished._

_I stared at her, dumbfounded. If we had lived through our six losses then that meant that this, our seventh life was it. _

_I turned back to my angel and her wide grin matched mine. She really was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. Her eyes were sparkling and bright, the same gorgeous chocolate colour I loved always. Her skin was pale and smooth; perfect, that is what she was, perfect. The Angel of Destiny was beautiful too, but my angel sitting next to me surpassed even her in my eyes._

_My eyes flickered over to the Angel of Destiny and I felt a little bad for thinking that, even if it was the truth. The Angel laughed._

"_It's quite alright that you find your love far more beautiful than me. That is how it should be, young one." She assured me as I flushed in embarrassment_

Shit, you can hear my thoughts, can't you?_ I asked her silently and she nodded, smiling._

Shit._ I thought again, making her smile widen._

_I turned back to look and my angel and raised my hand to stroke her face, relishing in the tingly feeling I got each time I touched her._

"_So I _have_ been feeling you." I murmured._

"_And I you." she whispered back, leaning her face into the palm of my hand and closing her eyes in contentment._

"_But why can I not follow the pull. I want to, oh so badly." I wondered as I leaned forward and pressed my forehead onto hers, breathing her in._

"_I have not allowed it." The Angel said from her seat._

_I pulled back from my love and snapped round to stare at the Angel incredulously._

"_Why not? If this is the life in which we win, why the hell not?" I demanded, feeling the anger rise within me._

"_Calm, young one. I shall explain all." The Angel soothed._

_I couldn't help it; I jumped up from the couch and started to pace as the thoughts whirled around in my head. _

_Thirteen years of dreams, thirteen years of holding her, loving her and then losing her each and every time. Thirteen years of being without her. How could she? Did she not realise that I could not survive without my angel? I have felt her around campus for near on two years now and been able to do nothing about it, did she not realise how frustrating that was to me? My love, my angel had been so close to me and there had been nothing I could do!_

_I paced up and down until I felt the pull. I turned and gazed at my angel's perfect face. I mentally examined the pull and realised that I could feel her emotions as if they were my own. She was sad and worried about me. Her pull was calling for me to be next to her; she was missing me. I immediately strode back to the couch and sat down, pulling her into my body as close as I could get. I hugged her to me tightly and whispered soothingly into her ear as I buried my face into her hair and neck, breathing her delicious strawberry scent._

"_I had to hold you both back and you have no idea how hard it was to maintain the control. It was not time yet and that is the only reason I held you back. You were not ready." The Angel whispered._

"_And it is time now?" I asked without removing my face from my love's neck._

"_Yes. Your meeting is pre-determined. I have come tonight with a choice for you both." She answered._

_I finally raised my head and looked at her. I didn't say anything. I could feel that my angel was getting ready to ask for me anyway._

"_Choice?" my love asked._

"_Yes. I am here to offer you the choice of deferring the meeting if you so wish." The Angel stated._

_I looked at the Angel and wondered if she had lost her mind. She shook her head at me and then nodded at my love._

"_I have not lost my mind and yes, there is a reason for this choice." She answered what I could only assume was both of our thoughts._

"_Your connection is the strongest one I have ever had to deal with and for that reason, in this life; I had to keep you apart until the time came for you to meet. In your previous lives, you have lost because you both followed that connection too soon. Though it was foretold that it would happen, I have tried to keep it from happening and have failed each time. In this life, you are set to succeed in being together, but you are both very selfless people and love each to a degree that should one be threatened, the other will sacrifice themselves." She paused and took a deep breath._

"_It was said that if I allowed your meeting to happen without warning, you would sacrifice your love in hopes of keeping each other alive. You would walk away from one another. To prevent this, I have had to offer you a choice, but it does come with stipulations."_

"_What stipulations?" my angel interrupted._

"_If you choose to defer your meeting, I can only offer you a deferment of two years. If you choose not to defer your meeting, then you will face the possibility of sacrifice. It is up to you to prevent that from happening. I cannot help with that." The Angel explained._

"_So that is why you brought us into this dream tonight. Our meeting is set to happen soon." I said as I considered all she was saying to us._

"_Yes. you both will remember this dream, as you have always remembered the others, but I was sent here in hopes that it would prevent you from making the sacrifice. You both need to understand that this has all been pre-written and will happen as such. It also means that you both need to let go of the fear that you will lose one another again. That was not written. It will only happen, should you choose to allow it to happen." She confirmed._

_I looked down at my angel and she looked up at me. Did we have to choose now? Could I walk away from her? Could I wait another two years for her? No. no, I couldn't. I knew that._

"_The choice must be given now, yes and I can hear that you have already made yours. You both have"_

_The Angel stood from her seat and crossed to us. She laid a warm yet cool hand upon our head, as if in blessing. I closed my eyes from the comforting feeling that flowed through me at her touch._

"_The choice is made. I only hope you refrain from sacrificing. Peace be with you both." She whispered._

I bolted upright in my bed and glanced around my room frantically. Did that really happen? Shit. That was new. Funny, that seemed to be the third time that had been said in the last 12 hours. I ran a hand through my hair and thought back to the conversation. I started when I realised what had been said.

I would be meeting my angel soon.

I jumped out of bed and ran to shower and dress. If I was to be meeting her soon, then I wanted it to be as soon as possible and the only place I had ever felt her whilst awake was on campus, so that would have to be where I looked for her first and foremost. I stopped dead in my tracks as I also realised that I had woken up before I got to speak to her again and tell her that I would see her soon. Double shit.

I think I dressed faster than a speeding bullet. Hell, I moved faster than a speeding bullet this morning. So much so that Jasper actually commented on it when I literally sprinted into the kitchen of our shared apartment to grab a banana or something easy to eat whilst I ran out the front door.

"Whoa, dude, where's the fire?" he called to me as I grabbed an apple and a banana from the fruit bowl on my way through to the lounge to grab my backpack.

"It's time. I need to get to campus. See you there!" I shouted back to him as I kept running out the door.

I ran down the four flights of stairs, forgoing the elevator. I burst out of the building and sprinted towards my car, unlocking it using my key fob as I neared it. I threw my backpack in and onto the passenger seat and slid into the driver seat. I quickly started the car and peeled out the parking lot and headed towards campus.

The ten minute drive seemed to take forever until finally, finally I pulled into a parking spot a few cars down from a gorgeous BMW M3 convertible in a light blue colour. I had seen that car around campus a few times and had always admired it. Whoever drove it quite obviously had taste. I locked up my car and strolled towards the Psyche building. I was ten minutes early for lecture, but I didn't mind. It was a gloriously sunny day, so I stopped in the main quad to enjoy the sunshine for a few minutes.

I realised that I had not considered the fact she may not even be on site today. There were a few day where I did not feel her around campus. The pull wasn't there, as if she wasn't nearby and it was the same right now. No pull. No pulse. No electricity.

I sighed and tugged at my hair in frustration. I should have asked The Angel how soon is soon.

* * *

**A/N - So...they didn't meet in the flesh per say, but it's certainly better than not meeting at all, right? What did you think? Good? Bad? **

**As always R&R!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**EPOV**

Three days. Three fucking days and nothing. I was slowly going mad. Slowly, but surely losing my mind. Last night's dream actually served to ease my panic at not feeling her or seeing her yet.

**Flashback**

"_Angel, where are you? Why have we not yet met?" I asked her sleeping form._

"_Soon, my prince. I promise." I heard her whisper in my mind._

"_Where have you been? I have not felt you in nearly three days." I said a hint of pleading in my tone._

"_I returned home to see my brother play." She answered softly._

"_Oh. Will I see you soon?" I returned._

"_Yes, my love." She promised_

**End Flashback**

See? Now can you understand why I have been going mad? And why I am now feeling slightly mollified? Now, three days later I arrived on campus feeling more at peace having gotten an answer as to why I hadn't even felt her.

"Hey, E, have you started that project for Professor Adams?" Jasper asked from his seat beside me.

"Yeah. I chose my topic and I'm headed to the library after this class to start research." I answered as I retrieved my notebook from my bag.

"What topic did you choose?" he asked.

"The meaning of dreams and their affects on a criminal." I replied nonchalantly.

"Shit, that's a good one. I'm thinking of Society and the affects on today's youth." He returned.

We discussed our projects for some time until the professor called the class to order. For the rest of class I ignored the curious looks from Jasper as I listened to the professor give his lecture on the Behaviour of Society Cast System.

Three gruelling hours later, we finally stepped out the classroom and headed to library. Jasper was silent beside me but I could feel him shoot me a glance every so often. I had finally had enough just as we reached the building housing the library and spun to face Jasper head on.

"Okay, what the hell is up with you today, J?" I demanded, my arms crossed over my chest.

"Nothing. What's up with you?" he returned, matching my posture.

"I call bullshit. You've been giving me weird looks all morning. What gives?" I quirked one eyebrow at him.

He opened his mouth to answer, but before he could the door to the library opened and two giggling girls stepped out and stopped as they took us in. their faces showed alarm at first at the sight of our posture and then relaxed as they saw that our faces were relaxed. One of the girls eyed my up and down, whilst the other, her friend eyed Jasper in the same manner. I snorted softly and turned back to Jasper.

"I'm headed in. I wanna grab a book that prof recommended before someone else gets it." With that I gave a curt nod towards the girls in greeting and slipped into the library.

I stood inside and took a deep breath, savouring the smell of books for a moment. I loved the smell, next to my angel's glorious scent; books had always been my other favourite. I moved further into the wide room and headed towards the Psychology texts. I browsed through the books, trailing my fingers over the spines.

I was still searching for the desired book when I felt it. I felt her. The electricity zinged through me and the pull tugged at me. I rejoiced at finally feeling her. After three days without her and this pull, I relished in it for a few moments. I felt the pulse move as it moved closer and my sense became bombarded with emotion. Sadness, hope, fear and love all flowed through me at a dizzying pace.

I turned and followed the pull as one part of my brain catalogued that I could actually do so now. I knew where it was coming from. I could feel exactly where she was. As I moved, the pulse moved with me, moving closer towards me. I rounded the corner and stopped dead in my tracks.

There, at the corner of the classics section stood my angel; the girl from my dreams of thirteen years. She was exquisite, even more so in person. Her long mahogany hair flowed down her back, one long strand draped casually over her shoulder and over her chest reaching down to her tiny waist. Her beautiful chocolate brown eyes opened wide and pulling me into their depths. Her plump ruby lips were parted slightly in surprise, one of her hands at her throat, the other over her flat stomach. My eyes trailed over her, drinking her in.

"Angel." I whispered, my body moving without my knowledge, following the pull.

"Yo! E! Did you find the…"

My head snapped round to see Jasper coming up behind me. He stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes landed on my angel and widened in recognition and disbelief. He knew what my angel looked like from the picture of her that we had found when we were fifteen.

"Holy shit…." he breathed as he stared at my angel causing me to release a low growl.

His head snapped round to me at the sound and his eyes widened further.

"Dude, it's her… do you see her or am I going mad? Shit, I'm going mad aren't I? Fuck, Alice is gonna kill me." he started to mumble to himself as he slowly shook his head from side to side.

"Jasper, shut. The. Fuck. Up! I see her too and you are not going mad! Sheesh!" I snapped at him, grabbing him by his shoulders and shaking him slightly.

I heard a giggle and my head whipped round towards the sound. I knew that sound. I had heard it nightly for almost thirteen years. She swung her eyes back to meet mine and I felt a flow of happiness flood me mixed with love. She studied me as I continued to study her. The electricity pulsed around us and my lips tugged up at the corners in a crooked smile I knew she loved. She blushed and I felt my pants tighten slightly at the sight.

"Angel?" I whispered again. She nodded.

"Shhhhit…." Jasper said as he blew out a breath.

He stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Jasper-"

"Hale. I know. Hi." My angel finished for him as she lightly shook his hand. I was surprised. She knew him? How?

"How do you-" Jasper began before she cut him off.

"Psyche Major?" she asked. Jasper nodded.

"You got a sister called Rosalie?" she asked. Jasper nodded again, confusion furrowing his brow and mine.

"She's dating my brother." She explained with a shrug of her delicate shoulders.

I had not said anything for sometime. I think my mind was still trying to catch up with my body. I simply started at her, allowing her soft, yet sexy voice flow over me and wrap me in a warm embrace.

"Wait, you're Emmett's sister? Bella Swan?" Jasper asked his voice raised in surprised.

_Bella_. Beautiful. The name suited her.

"That's me. It's nice to meet you, Jasper." She said softly.

"Likewise." He returned with a dip of his head.

Bella turned to me and gazed at me. I read several emotions in her eyes and through our connection. Fear, uncertainty, happiness, insecurity; they were all there. I had no idea why she was afraid or insecure, but I sure understood the happiness. I watched as tears filled her eyes and she bit her bottom lip and dropped her gaze from mine. I felt a jab in my side and looked at Jasper who nodded his head towards Bella. It was then that I realised that I had not said anything to her besides 'Angel'. I stepped forward and her head snapped up as she felt me move.

"Hi, I'm Edward Anthony Cullen. It's nice to finally meet you." I said softly, unsure if it was the right thing to say.

I heard Jasper laugh from behind me, but I ignored him and continued to watch Bella as she blushed and smiled up at me.

"Dude, that was some introduction! Bella, you'll have to excuse my friend here, he thinks you're someone else." Jasper tried to explain.

Bella held up one hand towards him, palm up in a 'stop' motion, but she didn't remove her eyes from mine.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Marie Swan. Pleased to see you again." she replied the small smile she had stretching wide.

"Holy…seriously?" Jasper asked, stunned.

"Thank you for coming back to me." she continued in a soft whisper.

"I'll always come back to you, angel." I answered as I took her hand and lifted it to my lips for a soft kiss.

"What. The. Fuck?" Jasper said from beside me, his head whipping from me to Bella.

He stopped and looked at Bella for a long moment and then at me.

"Shit, you too, Bella?" Jasper asked.

"Yes." Bella replied.

"Annabelle?" Jasper asked in a whisper.

"Andorra, Annabelle, Grace, Rosa, Aurora, Anna, whatever. They're all me." she shrugged.

"E?" he turned to me.

"Taos, Andrew, Aron, Marius, Eric, Emanuel. All me too." I answered without removing my eyes from her.

"So it's all true? It all happened?" Jasper continued and we both nodded.

"You chose now." I said to her.

"So did you." she replied.

"You left." I returned.

"I came back." she answered.

"For life?" I asked.

"Forever." She confirmed.

"Ok, what the hell are you talking about you two?" Jasper asked, exasperated.

"Us." I said

"Our destiny." Bella said at the same time.

"Our past." I continued.

"Our present." She said.

"Our future." We both said in unison.

**BPOV**

He was here. He was really here; standing in front of me, holding my hand, talking to me. While. I. Was. Awake!

I had felt the pulse as soon as I walked in through the library door, but it was different. This time I could actually feel exactly where it was coming from and I moved towards it, following the pull. As I neared the end of the classics aisle I felt a range of emotions hit me: Peace, happiness, joy and uncertainty. I knew they weren't coming from me so I wondered if they were his emotions. During the dream with the Angel of Destiny I had felt his emotions as clearly as if they were my own and I wondered if I would feel them as clearly when I was awake and standing in front of him.

I came around the corner and stopped. There he stood my prince; the same as all of my dreams yet so much better in person. He was tall, yet built and I could see the muscles clearly defined through his slightly tight t-shirt that he wore. His hair, eyes, skin, hands, all of it was the same as from my dreams.

I stared at him, taking him in for the first time without having my eyes closed and my mind in dreamland. He was really here. The pulse grew stronger, wrapping around me, reaching out to him and I could feel his emotions, just as I hoped I would: joy, happiness, disbelief and hope.

"Angel." I heard him faintly whisper.

"Yo! E! Did you find the…"

I looked past him to see a tall blond guy approach us. He stopped in his tracks when he saw me and stared, his mouth open in surprise.

"Holy shit…." his friend breathed as he stared at me.

There came a low growling like sound from my prince and his head snapped round to him at the sound and his eyes widened further.

"Dude, it's her… do you see her or am I going mad? Shit, I'm going mad aren't I? Fuck, Alice is gonna kill me." he started to mumble to himself as he slowly shook his head from side to side.

"Jasper, shut. The. Fuck. Up! I see her too and you are not going mad! Sheesh!" My prince snapped at him, grabbing him by his shoulders and shaking him slightly.

I giggled and my prince snapped his head back to look at me, his eyes darkening to a deeper shade of green. His lips moved to tug up into a crooked grin which caused my lady parts to swoon.

"Angel?" He whispered again. I nodded.

"Shhhhit…." Jasper said as he blew out a breath.

He stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Jasper-"

"Hale. I know. Hi." I finished for him. So this was Rose's brother.

"How do you-" Jasper began before I cut him off.

"Psyche Major?" I asked. Jasper nodded.

"You got a sister called Rosalie?" I continued. Jasper nodded again, confusion furrowing his brow and my prince's.

"She's dating my brother." I explained with a shrug.

My prince still had not spoken, though I could feel him struggling with his emotions. He seemed to be fighting to reconcile the sight before him as a reality.

"Wait, you're Emmett's sister? Bella Swan?" Jasper asked his voice raised in surprised.

"That's me. It's nice to meet you, Jasper." I said softly.

"Likewise." He returned with a dip of his head.

I turned back to my prince and gazed at him. He really was beautiful, much more so in person. He was still struggling with his emotions and I began to feel as if he didn't want this, that he didn't want me. Maybe the dream was better than the reality to him? I felt tears fill my eyes at that thought and dropped my gaze to the floor, biting my lip. I felt the pulse move closer to me and I snapped my head back up to see my prince step towards me.

"Hi, I'm Edward Anthony Cullen. It's nice to finally meet you." He said softly, as if unsure if it was the right thing to say. It was.

Edward. Such a classic name, yet it suited him to perfection/

I heard Jasper laugh from behind Edward, but he didn't look at him. Edward continued to watch me and I blushed under his scrutiny.

"Dude, that was some introduction! Bella, you'll have to excuse my friend here, he thinks you're someone else." Jasper tried to explain.

I held up one hand towards him, palm up in a 'stop' motion, but didn't remove my eyes from my prince. No, I knew he didn't think I was someone else. I could feel his recognition of me and my heart and soul recognised him in return. I gave him a small smile.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Marie Swan. Pleased to see you again." I replied the small smile stretching wide.

"Holy…seriously?" Jasper asked, stunned.

"Thank you for coming back to me." I needed to say it.

"I'll always come back to you, angel." He answered as he took my hand and lifted it to his lips for a soft kiss. My knees weakened at the feel of his lips on my skin.

"What. The. Fuck?" Jasper said, his head whipping back and forth.

He stopped and looked at me for a long moment and then at Edward.

"Shit, you too, Bella?" Jasper asked finally.

"Yes." I said simply.

"Annabelle?" Jasper asked in a whisper.

"Andorra, Annabelle, Grace, Rosa, Aurora, Anna, whatever. They're all me." I shrugged. It was the truth, they were all me and I was all of them.

"E?" he turned to Edward.

"Taos, Andrew, Aron, Marius, Eric, Emanuel. All me too." He answered without removing he gaze from me.

"So it's all true? It all happened?" Jasper continued and we both nodded.

"You chose now." Edward said. I knew what he meant.

"So did you." I replied

"You left." He accused.

"I came back." I placated.

"For life?" He asked in a hopeful tone.

"Forever." I confirmed.

"Ok, what the hell are you talking about you two?" Jasper asked, exasperated.

"Us." Edward said

"Our destiny." I said at the same time.

"Our past." Edward continued.

"Our present." I said.

"Our future." We both said in unison.

* * *

**A/N - So? They've seen each other in the flesh for the first time. I wonder what's next?**

**As always R&R!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**EPOV**

I led Bella out of the library and into the bright sun. I knew she was following me; I could feel her. I could also feel what she was feeling too and I didn't like it. She was feeling uncertain. I understood it to a point. After all, she didn't know me in this life and I didn't know her so I would need to take this slowly and reacquaint myself with her as a person and her with me. I suggested getting a coffee and she agreed.

We stepped into the busy coffee shop located in the main compound of the campus and I led her over to a table, pulling the chair out for her to sit in. she shot me a thankful smile and sat down.

"What would you like to drink?" I asked nervously.

"Coffee, Black, two sugars, please." She replied

Ahh… my kind of girl. Wait, I already knew she was. I just meant she drank her coffee the same way I did mine. I mean I knew she was my soul mate already, I was just…you know what, forget it. I'm rambling.

I headed to the counter and ordered two black coffees. I leaned against the counter with my back to the server as I waited for my order and I observed my angel. Bella. I had a name for her now. It really did suit her, so much more than all of the other ones. She looked even more beautiful in person than she did in my dreams and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. As if she felt me looking at her (let's face it, she more than likely did!) she lifted her eyes to meet mine and we stayed there, locked in a gaze that neither one of us wanted to break. I could feel everything she was feeling and I somehow knew that she could feel my emotions too.

Our stare off was interrupted by the server clearing her throat. I spun to take my order from her with a slight show of annoyance and I heard my angel giggle lightly behind me. The sound made me smile; I loved hearing it and wanted to do so again and again. I made my way back to our table, holding the coffees carefully so as not to spill them. I set down hers in front of her and took the seat opposite her and sat down.

"So, you're a Psyche Major too?" she asked.

"Yep. I wanna be a shrink when I grow up." I said with a waggle of my eyebrows.

She giggled again. Ahh.. .Mission accomplished.

"What about you?" I questioned her as I lifted my cup to my lips.

"Pre-Law." She answered.

I was impressed. Brains and beauty. What more could I ask for?

"You know I told Rose she should have gone for that." I started.

"Oh, I know. I also know what she told you too." She laughed and the sound shot through my whole body, awakening it.

"Oh?" I asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Mmhm…I believe her words were 'Mind your own fucking business', am I right?" she replied as she took a sip of her coffee.

Her saying the word 'fuck' did something to my body. I was turned on beyond belief and I had never had this reaction with any of my three girlfriends and they had sworn a hell of a lot more. I shifted in my seat and prayed she couldn't feel what I was feeling. I looked back at her and found her smirking at me. Shit. She could feel it. I cleared my throat.

"So, you have a brother? What does he do?" I asked in a desperate attempt to detract attention from my emotions.

"He's at NYU on a football scholarship. He's a Sports Therapy major." She replied, sipping her coffee.

"This is strange, isn't it?" I asked softly, running a hand through my hair.

"Yeah. I know you and yet…" she trailed off.

"And yet you don't." I finished for her. She nodded.

I could feel her uncertainty and remorse.

"Hey, what are you uncertain about?" I said in the gentlest voice I could.

"Wha-" she started.

"I feel you, remember?" I explained, cutting her off. She blushed.

"Oh…yeah. Sorry." She said, biting her bottom lips causing my pants to tighten and her eyes to widen.

"And you feel me." I said. She nodded.

"Yeah…sorry about that too." She whispered shooting a quick glance down at my pants.

"Why are you sorry?" I laughed.

"Must be an intrusion and it certainly must be uncomfortable for you to know that I can feel your emotions and despite the fact that we know each other, we really don't. At least not right now." She explained.

"You don't need to be sorry, angel and if it helps, I am not uncomfortable per say. Yes, it is odd to know that you know what I am feeling, but certainly not uncomfortable and I would like to get to know you, if you will allow me that honour?" I replied.

"I think I like the idea of getting to know you properly, in this life." She returned shyly.

"My sentiments exactly." I smiled at her and she smiled back.

We spent the rest of the afternoon together, simply asking questions and chatting. We talked, we laughed and we teased each other. We had a lot of thing in common, ranging from books and music to viewpoints on world issues and certain articles in Psychology Today. I found her to be well read and brilliantly smart and fell a bit more in love with her over the course of the afternoon; the real her, the her now. We tried not to call each other out on certain emotions we each picked up on over the course of the afternoon, but sometimes we brought them up only to agree to ignore them again.

I was surprised when at 4pm my cell phone range and I looked down at the display to see my sister's name flashing at me. I had forgotten that I was supposed to meet her at 3pm to talk about what to do for our parent's 25th wedding anniversary in three months time. We were lucky that it fell on the same time as Winter Break so we would be home to celebrate with them. I quickly answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Edward Anthony Cullen! Where the hell are you?"

"Um…Café in the main compound."

"Did you forget you were meeting me at 3pm?"

"Ummm….no?"

"Well, darling brother, its 4pm now and you are still not here, which means you are ONE hour late!"

"Shit, Ali, I'm sorry, honey."

"Don't you honey me! Stay where you are, I'm on my way!"

Before I could say anything more, she hung up the phone and all I got was silence on the other end. I glanced up at Bella when I felt a wave of pain and jealousy go through me.

"Angel, what's wrong?" I asked quickly.

"Nothing." She answered, not looking at me.

"Baby? This is me, remember?" I said as I gently pulled her face back round to me by her chin.

"Girlfriend?" she asked quietly.

I looked at her confused for a moment until it hit me what she was asking and I couldn't help but laugh. I stopped when I felt her irritation hit me.

"No, angel, not girlfriend. Sister. Twin sister actually." I assured her.

I felt her relax and then her embarrassment.

"Hey, don't be embarrassed. I know what it sounded like." I said softly as I covered her tiny hand with my larger one, relishing in the tingle.

"I'm sorry, Edward" I shook my head.

"No baby, don't be. Look, we don't know each other well, but you know better than anyone that I belong to no one else. I can't, it's impossible for me to do so." I said gently.

"I know that. It was just a silly reaction and for that I'm sorry." She returned.

"I think I should make it clear to you what my intentions are, but then I think you already know them. Angel, I have had girlfriends, but none of them have meant to me what you do. After thirteen years of seeing you in my dreams and realising that they were memories and not dreams, do you really think I would be able to belong to anyone but you?" I asked her.

"No, Edward, I don't think that. I know who you belong to just as much as I know who I belong to. It's just…what do we call this relationship now? I've been you lover, your friend and your secret girlfriend so what does that make me now?" she asked back.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair and licked my lips to wet them. I felt a wave of attraction and snapped my eyes back to her. She blushed and looked down to the table. Well, at least I knew the attraction was mutual.

"How about we start with a proper date?" I said finally. Her smile lit up her face and her eyes sparkled.

"I'd like that." She replied calmly, but I could feel her extreme happiness through our bond and that made me smile wide.

"How about tomorrow night? 7pm?" I questioned.

"Perfect." She hummed.

We exchanged numbers and she immediately text me her address. Sweet, it was the next building over from mine. She started to gather her things and got up to leave. I felt an acute pain in my chest at the thought of being apart from her and she looked back at me, her emotions telling me she felt the same and her eyes telling me it would be okay. Just as we stood up I took her hand in mine. There was one more thing I had to clear up before she left.

"You asked what I would call this relationship now. I want to call it everything, but a secret. We have had our fair share of a secret love affair with one another and I refuse for it to be that way this time. I want you as my friend, my lover, my girlfriend and as my forever." I told her and then lifted her hand to my lips and brushed a gently across her knuckles.

"Thank you." she whispered.

Tears shone in her eyes and her emotions bombarded me with love and gratitude. I gave that love right back to her through my own emotions and she gasped and closed her eyes, an expression of serenity washing over her beautiful features. I traced her face with the tips of my fingers and heard a soft sigh escape her kissable lips. I leaned forward before I knew what I was doing and then suddenly pulled back. I would do this the proper way; the right way. Date first, and then kiss.

I straightened up and looked down at her. She opened her eyes slowly as she felt me move back and gazed at me. I felt her dejection and shook my head.

"No, angel, I'm not rejecting you. I would never. I just…I want to do this properly this time. I won't hide you or our relationship. I will take you out, we will date and we will do it out in the open so that means that the right way will be to take you out on a date first and then have our first kiss." I reassured her firmly.

She giggled, sending waves of pleasure through me.

"Technically, it wouldn't be our first kiss, my prince." She teased. I laughed and nodded.

"True. Okay, how about our first kiss in this life and in the flesh?" I countered.

"Agreed." She replied, smiling brightly up at me.

"I have to go. I have a study session in an hour and I need to stop at home to pick up my room mate first." She said remorsefully and I could feel how much she _didn't _want to go.

"Okay baby. I'll see you tomorrow evening?" I replied, equally as remorsefully.

She nodded and I released her hand. She stepped away from me and bumped into someone standing behind her and fell forward towards me. I quickly caught before she could fall further by grabbing her hips. I pulled her closer to me to ensure she regained her footing and then looked up at the person behind her, mildly irritated that they nearly made her fall. I was surprised to find my sister standing there with her mouth hanging open. Now, I have never and I do mean _never_, seen my sister speechless so this was a shocker to me. I cleared my throat and tightened my grip on Bella.

"Hey, Ali." I said to my sister who ignored me and continued to stare at Bella.

"Alice?" I questioned.

My sister snapped her mouth shut and slowly raised her eyes to me and lifted her hand, which was shaking slightly, to point at Bella.

"It's…it's…she…Annabelle!" she stuttered. I chuckled.

"Alice I would like for you to meet Bella Swan, Bella this is my sister Alice." I waved a hand between them.

Bella turned in my arms and looked at Alice, blushing.

"Hi Alice, it's nice to meet you." my angel said shyly.

Alice looked from Bella to me and I nodded in encouragement.

"You see her too right? I'm not losing it am I?" my sister whispered to me.

Bella and I burst out laughing at that. Seriously, what are the odds that both she and Jasper would say the same thing on the same damn day?

"Yeah, I see her too Ali. She's real." I assured her when our laughter had died down slightly.

There was a beat of silence and the air was broken by a loud squeal as Alice launched herself at Bella and hugged her with all her might. I felt Bella's panic hit me before it was replaced by calm acceptance as she hugged my sister back, laughing. I felt my heart swell with love for my angel at her acceptance of my crazy over zealous twin. Bella's eyes snapped up to meet mine as she felt my emotions. Her eyes softened and filled with love and I felt the same thing through our bond. I smiled down at her, thanking her with my eye. She nodded over my sister's shoulder.

Alice finally released Bella and stepped back and looked at her up and down, appraising.

"You sure are as beautiful as the picture. More so, actually." Alice stated in a matter of fact tone.

"Um…Thank you?" Bella offered. I chuckled.

"Bella was just going, she needs to get to her study session, Ali." I explained.

"Oh. Ok." Alice said sounding disappointed.

"Don't worry, Ali, you'll see her again soon I'm sure." I reassured my twin at which she brightened up.

"Really? Oh that would be so cool!" she clapped her hands together.

I turned back to my angel and lifted my hand to stroke her cheek again.

"Tomorrow?" I whispered.

"Tomorrow." She confirmed.

She left soon after, taking my heart with her. I slumped back onto the chair that I had just spent the afternoon sitting on whilst getting to know my angel.

The next day found me frantically pacing my bedroom at 5.30pm as I tried to come up with a plan for tonight. Ok, I know what you're thinking; why hadn't had something planned already, right? Well, see the reason would be a 5'2" pain in my ass twin of mine. My darling sister kept me sitting with her at the café for five hours. Five. Fucking. Hours! We spent most of the time talking about Bella. Okay, lie. _I _spent most of that time talking about Bella while Alice fired off question after question at me. Seriously, she asked me everything. From the dream to how we met and how we ended up at the café. And then on top of that, she roped me into planning a party for my parent's 25th anniversary.

She decided she wanted to do a Ball. I blanched at the idea immediately as it reminded me too much of my past, especially the one where Bella and I, or rather Anna and Aron were killed by the Royal Advisor. Thankfully Alice compromised and said she would make it a masquerade ball and the outfits would be cocktail attire. I agreed with that. There was no way in which I wanted to relive the Imperial Ball at my parent's anniversary. The other way my darling sister got me to agree was to invite Bella too. I was hesitant on that front at first but she convinced me that it was three months away, so Bella and I had plenty of time to get to know each other beforehand. Sneaky little shit.

So after she finally released me, it was too late to plan anything yesterday and then this morning, Jasper, the fucktard as I have now started to call him, decided to slip on the bath mat and knock himself out, thus causing me to rush him to ER where we spent three and half hours waiting to be seen and then another hour for him to be x-rayed and finally add on another hour for the Doctor to return after he finished his rounds to release said fucktard. So that brought me to now, pacing and panicking because I had nothing planned for the biggest date of my seven lives!

I was continuously running my hand through my hair as I wracked my brains to think of something to do when my saviour, I mean my sister bounced into my room.

"Edward, I know you haven't had time to plan anything for your date tonight so I took the liberty of doing it for you. Here are two tickets to a concert on the beach, a blanket; the cooler and picnic basket are in the kitchen waiting for you. Wear your black jeans and light blue button down shirt. Text Bella and tell her to wear casual too as she will need to know. Let her know that sandals are acceptable, sneakers however are not. For you, wear your converses, the black ones. Cool?"

With that she bounced right back out of the room, leaving me gaping like a fish after her. I shook my head slowly, amazed at the fact that she got all of that out without pausing for breath and even requiring an answer from me. I heard Jasper laugh from my doorway so I flipped him the bird and pulled out my phone to text my Bella.

Mmm…my Bella. I like the sound of that. Also eerily similar to what I had called her as Eric.

_**Hey angel, I am under strict instructions to tell you to dress casual for tonight, also, sandals are acceptable, and sneakers are not (Alice's words, not mine!). I'll see you 7pm. E**_

I quickly sent the message and tucked my phone back into my jeans. I opened my closet and pulled out the items of clothing my twin had deemed appropriate for tonight and laid them out on the couch in my room. I stripped out of my current clothes, leaving me only in my boxers and headed into my en suite bathroom.

I showered slowly, savouring the feel of the warm water against my skin. Once the water had started to cool I stepped out of the shower and wrapped my towel around my waist. Yeah, I still liked to air dry. I made quick work of shaving and brushing my teeth, splashing a light smattering of cologne after I was done. I left the bathroom and headed back into my room only to stop. Sitting on my bed was Marcus, my uncle.

"Uncle Marcus? What are you doing here?" I asked in surprise.

He got up from my bed and walked over to me, holding out his hand, which I took and shook heartily. Marcus was my father's half brother and an amazing man. Out of all of my uncle's he was my favourite. He had always treated me as an equal and sometimes even come down to the level of a child when it came to pranks and jokes. He lived in New York, working for a big law firm there, though he did travel when work called for it and no one had told me that he would be in town today, so imagine my surprise.

"Edward, my boy! How are you, son?" he said as he pumped my hand.

"I'm good, Uncle M. How are you?" I replied with a wide smile.

"I was in town for a depo meeting and thought I'd look you up. Fancy going out for dinner with your old Unc?" he asked, grinning at me.

"Sorry, Unc, I got a date tonight." I answered, with a grin of my own.

"Who? You? I thought you didn't date?" he asked in surprise.

I threw my head back and laughed.

"I do date, Unc." I assured him, patting his shoulder.

"Last I heard, you were gay." He smirked at me slyly.

"Nope, not gay, merely waiting for the right one. Girl that is." I replied, amused.

"Ahh…and this is the right one?" he surmised.

Before I could reply my phone beeped from my jeans pocket. I crossed to where I had placed them and pulled it out. 1 message. From Bella. I felt a goofy smile overtake my face as I read her words.

**Hello my prince, casual works for me. Please tell Alice that what she doesn't know won't hurt her on the footwear front, but I shall abide by her wishes for tonight. Do I get a hint on what the plan is? B**

I quickly tapped back my response.

_**For the record, I don't care what you wear on your feet, just as long as they are covered enough for you to walk with me. As for the plans, my princess, you shall have to wait and see. ;-) E**_

I sent the message and turned back to face my uncle, who I found watching me with a curious expression on his face.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You're in love." He stated, rather than asked.

"I am." I confirmed. He smiled widely at me and strode over to give me a quick guy-hug.

"So? Who is she? And when do I get to meet her?" he asked excitedly.

"Whoa, whoa, hold the phone. This is only our first date; give me some time here, yeah?" I said to him with my hand raised in a surrender motion.

"What? How can you know you love her if this is only your first date then?" Marcus almost screeched. Shit, how do I explain this without sounding like a complete wakco? I decided that avoidance would work for now.

"It's a long story, Unc. One that I don't have time for right now. It's 6.15pm and I'm due to pick her up in 45 minutes. Rain check?" I pleaded.

Okay, but I'll hold you to that rain check." Marcus conceded and I let an out quiet sigh of relief.

"Um…Could I have some privacy? I need to get ready." I asked.

"Oh. OH! Yeah, sure. I'll head out. Give me a call tomorrow and we'll get together. I'm in town until the end of the week." He said. I nodded.

I quickly dressed as soon as he left the room and dashed out to the kitchen to grab the cooler, blanket and basket. I checked the time and it said 6.50pm. Perfect. It would only take me a minute to walk out of my building and to her one, next to me. I called out a hurried goodbye to Jasper and Alice as I left, but didn't go into Jasper's room as I heard giggling coming from there. There was no way in which I wanted to see that shit again. Once was enough, trust me.

I caught the elevator down and stepped out into the balmy night. It was a beautiful night tonight and what better way than to spend it than listening to music on the beach with a picnic and the most beautiful girl sat beside me?

I crossed the wide grassed area that separated our buildings and walked into hers. I checked my phone to make sure I had the right address and made sure I looked at the apartment number again. The first time I had seen it I almost laughed at the irony. My apartment was 1309 and hers was 2006. I said almost laughed because after our conversation yesterday, she had told me that her birthday was September 13th and seeing as mine was June 20th, you can see why I thought it was ironic, right? What are the odds, huh? It also didn't escape my notice that her birthday had been last week either. I would need to do something to make it up to her for missing it. Well technically, we hadn't met at that point, but still. I wanted to do something because my stupid analytical brain had calculated that the night of our dream with The Angel had been her 21st birthday.

I made it up to her floor and knocked on the door. I felt the pull as soon as I stepped out of the elevator and as soon as I made it to her door I could feel her emotions too. She was excited and nervous at the same time as being happy. Her emotions matched mine perfectly. The door swung open and I swear I stopped breathing. There stood my angel dressed in a pair of skin tight dark wash jeans and a royal blue halter top. Her hair was loose and hung down her back in waves. She had on very little make up, just some mascara and eyeliner on her eyes, making them look darker, almost as if they were filled with lust and on her lips. Oh God, her lips! She had on clear lip gloss, showing them off to perfection.

I stood and stared at her, my eyes drinking all of her in as if I were a thirsty man lost in the desert and she was my oasis. She was perfection personified. I released a long breath that I didn't know I was holding and stepped forward, taking her hand in mine and bending to kiss it.

"You look…there are no words, angel. I can't…" I stammered. She blushed and looked down to the floor.

"Thank you Edward." She murmured.

"Shall we?" I stepped back before I gave in to the desire to kiss her senseless and held out my arm for her to take.

"We shall." She giggled and I swear my dick twitched in my pants at the sound.

I led her out of her building after a sexually charged elevator ride down from her floor and over to my parking lot.

"Where are you going? Where did you park?" she asked curiously.

"I parked where I always park, angel. In my parking lot." I told her, confused.

"Your parking lot?" she question, one eyebrow cocked.

It occurred to me then that she didn't know where I lived and I laughed.

"Yes, angel, my parking lot. You see, I just so happen to be lucky enough to be your neighbour." I said as I gestured to my building.

She looked from me to my building and back again, her mouth open in an adorable 'O'.

"You live in the building next to mine?" she clarified.

"Yep." I confirmed, popping the 'p'.

"Well, why didn't you tell me, you ass!" she exclaimed, slapping my arm lightly.

"Because it was more necessary for me to know your address right now than it was for you to know mine." I answered, still laughing.

She 'Hrumpd' and pouted. Her pout made me want to kiss her all the more so I distracted myself with sharing another bit of information with her.

"So, you're apartment 2006?" I said, clearing my throat. She looked at me confused and I could feel her confusion too.

"Uh..Yeah, isn't that where you just picked me up from Einstein?" she returned. I chuckled.

"It just so happens that my birthday is June 20th." I explained.

I felt her surprise and then mirth through our bond before she actually burst out laughing. I joined her. Her laugh was really an amazing sound, light and airy, yet with a hint of sexiness; just like her voice.

"What are the odds?" she gasped out through her laughs.

"I thought the same thing!" I managed.

We continued to laugh as I opened her door for her. I climbed into the driver side not seconds later, not wanting to be apart from her for too long.

"My apartment is 1309." I said quietly.

This time all I felt was surprise and awe; no mirth. I peeked at her out of the corner of my eye as I pulled my car out of the lot and headed to the beach.

* * *

**A/N - First date...Sorry it had to be split into two chapters but this was getting to be too long! Next update: Tomorrow! (Friday 2nd Nov)**

**As always, R&R!**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N - Okay, I'm up at the ungodly hour of nearly 4am so I thought I would be kind enough to give you the next chapter.  
**

**Why am I up at this hour? Good question, folks. **

**Today happens to be one of the most important days that comes around every year in a married woman's life of my culture. Today, I am fasting in prayer for the long and healthy life of my darling husband and I am awake to cook the feast I will eat in order to keep my fast. Let's hope he appreciates this, eh?**

**But! You guys probably don't wanna hear about my hunger woes today, so without further ado - Chapter Eleven and the rest of the date, my friends. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Eleven**

**EPOV**

The beach was slightly crowded when we got there, but I found us a nice spot and spread out the blanket and placed that cooler and basket on two separate ends to hold it down. I sank down onto the blanket covered sand and motioned for Bella to do the same thing. She sat down gingerly, muttering under her breath something about 'Stupid Angela and her ideas about _breathable _skin tight jeans'. I snorted and then coughed to hide my laugh, but I don't think I was successful because Bella snapped her eyes over to me and I could feel her annoyance grow.

"I'm sorry baby, it's just…you look and sound so cute while cursing out poor Angela." I explained, hoping to placate her.

"Cute was not what I was going for Edward. That harpy talked me into these jeans and now I can barely sit in them!" she said, her voice rising at the end.

I felt sorry for her and started to wonder if this was a bad idea. I looked around thinking of ways to salvage this date. I heard Bella sigh and then a wave of calm washed over me.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't mean to snap at you, honey. I'll be fine; it just takes a few minutes to adjust is all." She assured me.

I felt a thrill go through me when she called me 'honey', nothing close to what I felt when she called me her prince, but it felt nice all the same. I knew she felt it because she smiled at me, her eyes shining. I smiled back at her and then proceeded to take out our dinner and utensils.

"If you're sure, shall we stay then and eat?" I asked. She nodded.

We talked while we ate. She shared some of her childhood stories and I shared mine, though mine were boring as I had been a shy one. She argued that she found my tales of things I got up to with Jasper extremely entertaining, but I disagreed. In the end we agreed to disagree when she said she thought her stories were more boring than mine, effectively shutting down my counter arguments. The girl will make a fine lawyer one day, let me ya.

We were silent at some points, but the silence was not tense or uncomfortable. In fact, for the first time with a girl, I felt completely relaxed and comfortable - whether it was to sit here talking with her or in silence. I knew she felt the same too as she started to lean into me more and more while our bond hummed in contentment. The music from the concert was soft and soothing as it was a piano concerto, something my sister knew I would love. Like I said; sneaky little shit. I could also feel how much Bella loved the concerto too as I felt her approval wash over me.

I was sitting with my legs spread and my knees bent upwards around her body as she leaned against my chest, her hands on my knees. Although I was turned on by this position, it was not so bad that I felt embarrassed. I was simply enjoying the feel of her against me while we listened to the crecending finish of the music. We had eaten our fill and were both sipping on the wine that Alice had kindly provided along with real wine glasses when Bella turned her face to look up at me.

"It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"It is, though not as beautiful as what I have in my arms right now." I replied as I dipped my head and kissed her cheek causing her to blush.

In some ways this was very new to us, but in the ways that mattered the most, it wasn't. We knew each other in ways that no other couple would ever know their partner. Sure, we were learning what we each enjoyed and didn't enjoy in this life, but it still felt as if we had always known each other. Which in some ways I guess we…had. I looked forward to finding out what made her tick in this life and I sure as hell looked forward to a long and happy life with her too and I told her as much, which of course caused her to blush again and my dick to twitch in my pants.

"Bella?" I whispered down to her.

"Hmm?" she hummed. Her emotions were telling me that she was completely relaxed and I loved knowing that she could be with me.

"Can I see you again tomorrow?" I asked softly.

"Yes." she replied simply.

I sat back, content in the knowledge that now that I had her, I would never let her go again. I knew what I felt for her and I also knew she felt the same for me, but it was too early for those declarations. They would come in time and we had plenty of that now.

We packed up shortly after that and headed back to the car. I helped her into the passenger seat and went round to the driver side. I wasn't ready for the night to be over yet, but it was a school night and we both had classes tomorrow. I could feel her hesitance to let me go too and I felt safe in that knowledge. I drove us back to our apartments and parked my car in my parking lot. I opened the passenger door for her and helped her back out and led her over to her apartment building, her hand still in mine.

As we stepped off the elevator on her floor and stopped in front of her door, I pulled her round to face me.

"I said I would do this the proper way." I said as I gazed into her eyes.

"Bella, may I kiss you goodnight?" I asked gently.

She giggled and looked up at me. I read the acceptance in her eyes before she nodded. I leaned down slowly and brushed my lips lightly over hers, once, twice, three times before I pressed them fully against hers. I wrapped my left arm around her waist, pulling her into me as my lips moved gently over hers. She moved closer to me as she returned the kiss, moving her lips in time with mine. I released the hand I was still holding and brought my hand up to thread my fingers in her hair at the base of her neck and anchored her face to mine. I would not take it any further tonight, but the feel of her soft lips against mine was indescribable. I had felt her kiss in my dreams, but they had nothing on the real thing. I felt her desire through our connection and I moaned lightly at the sensations that were crashing through me.

I pulled back, panting for breath and gazed down at Bella, whose eyes were still closed. I felt complete contentment from her and I rejoiced in the fact that I could give her that. She slowly opened her eyes, just as breathless as I was and she smiled making her eyes twinkle. I smiled back and leaned back down to place a soft chaste kiss on her lips.

"I have classes in the morning until 1pm, can we meet for lunch?" I asked hopefully.

"I'm in class until 1.30pm, can we make it 2pm?" she replied, just as hopefully. I chuckled.

"Sure. Where would you like to meet?" I questioned.

"Hmm…How about the main quad? There's a bench by the fountain that I like to sit on and-"

"Read" I finished for her. It was the same bench that I enjoyed sitting on too.

"Yeah." She agreed.

"That's fine baby. 2pm at the bench then. I'll see you tomorrow." I said as I slowly released her, fighting with my body and instinct to hold on to her.

"Yeah. I'll see you then honey." She smiled up at me.

I kissed her chastely one last time, just because I could now and left her then, dragging my sorry ass away from her. Each step away from her felt like a dagger piercing my heart and I could feel that she felt the same. I clutched at my shirt over my heart as I stepped into the elevator, turning to wave to her once.

"Come back to me." I heard her whisper sadly just before the doors closed on us.

I slumped back against the elevator wall as the pain in my chest throbbed. I whipped out my phone and shot her a text.

_I'll always come back to you, angel. E_

I stashed my phone in my pocket just as the elevator doors dinged open.

**BPOV**

_I'll always come back to you, angel. E_

So he had heard me. I read the text over and over, placating my treacherous heart with his loving words, the same words he had always said to me in my dreams. I felt his absence keenly and knew that he must have left the building. The pull was still there, but it was faint compared to how it was when he was nearer.

The night had been absolute perfection. Simply, yet romantic in every way. The food, the music and most assuredly; the company. I couldn't have asked for a better first date. Even if it was from Edward, my prince.

My phone rang in my hand and I quickly answered it, hoping it was Edward.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Baby Bell!"

"Emmett? What are you doing calling me at this hour?"

I glanced at the clock on my bedside table which read 10.40pm, which meant that it was 1.40am in New York.

"I wanted to speak to you, sis. I tried calling your house phone earlier, but Angela said you were out on a date."

Shit. I was gonna kill that girl.

"Um…Yeah, I was."

"Who is he and do I need to kick his ass?"

"No need for ass kicking, he was a perfect gentleman, even walked me to the door and everything."

"So who is he?"

"You remember Rose's brother, Jasper?"

"Yeah…it's not him is it? I though he already had a girlfriend?"

"No, not him, his best friend, Edward."

"The one Rose told to mind his own business when he asked why she didn't go into Pre-Law?"

I had to laugh at this one. Trust Em to remember that tidbit.

"The one in the same."

"Shit. Talk about keeping it close to home, sis."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What if it doesn't work out? Rose is extremely close to those guys. It could be awkward for her."

"Gee, thanks Em. Trying to tell me my relationship is doomed to fail before it has even begun, huh?"

I was pissed. How dare he!

"No, no…look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that. Forget I said anything, yeah?"

"Fine. Now tell me why you called me at 1.40am your time."

"Renee wants to see you and she's in Cali in three weeks time."

"Fuck. No way."

"Way. Look, I have her cell number, I'll text it to you, and it's up to you if you wanna use it."

"Don't bother; I'll only delete it as soon as I get it."

"Still, that'll be your choice and then she can't tell me I didn't try."

"So you throw me under the bus? Fuck! Em, I do not want to see her or speak to her! When the hell is she gonna get that!"

"I know, I know, baby sis. Look, keep it, delete it, doesn't matter to me either way. I've had my say with her."

"What did you say?"

"I just told her that I thought she was a shit mother and to not bother contacting me again. We got Sue now."

"Dad still seeing her?"

"Yeah. She's good for him. He laughs more now."

Good for him. I like Sue."

"Same here, sis. So you gonna call her?"

"Nope."

"Cool. Look, I'm headed to bed now. I'll speak to you later, yeah?"

"Yeah. Night Em, I love you."

"I love you too, baby sis. G'night."

I pressed the end button and set the phone down on my night stand. I was in two minds about this. On one side I did want to speak to Renee and find out exactly why she left and on the other, I didn't really give a shit. My young mind had not understood it at the time, but as I got older and I caught snippets of conversation between her and my Dad, I picked up on the fact that she felt trapped by us. Sure I still saw her growing up and at the time my child's mind simply took things at face value and loved her. But now? Now I wasn't so sure I wanted her in my life, especially since she had never made the effort to be in mine. Case in point; my high school graduation.

_God, I sound like a lawyer already!_

I hurried through my nightly routine and slipped under the covers into my bed. I briefly wondered if I would dream of Edward tonight as I slipped into unconsciousness.

**EPOV**

The next two weeks flew by in a blur of lectures, study groups and of course time spent with my angel. I was deliriously happy. Our relationship had now entered the phase where we knew each other's schedules and talked constantly in our time in between classes and seeing each other. Some might call it moving too fast, but it worked for us. Normal relationship rules didn't seem to apply to us so we didn't care what society said. I had to snort at that. Here was shrink in the making and a lawyer in training ignoring the rules of society. I found that funny for some reason.

I entered the psyche building and stopped just inside the doors as I felt her. She was in the building. Over the last two weeks our connection had grown stronger and was now at a point where I could feel her almost a mile away. This was interesting because it meant that I could feel her from my apartment when she was in her's. It also meant I could feel her emotions and that alone was torturous when she was feeling lust at thoughts of me. Yeah, I could feel that shit too. Neither one of us was ready for sex yet, so you can imagine the amount of showers I took, cold ones too.

I knew she had her Criminal Behaviour class was held in this building, but that was on Thursdays and today was Wednesday so I wondered what she was doing here. I moved into the building, following the pull. I knew she would be able to feel me too, so at least I would not be surprising her. I became alarmed when I read her emotions; she was fearful and a little disgusted. I rounded the corner and felt rage fill me. A guy I knew from my Social Studies class had my angel backed into a corner and blocked in with his hands on either side of her head, resting them on the wall behind her. Bella's eyes snapped over his shoulder to meet mine as she could feel me there and she could also feel my anger and protectiveness of her raging within me.

I strode over to them and clamped my hand down on his shoulder, hard.

"I suggest you release her, Connelly." I snarled.

Simon Connelly spun round to face me and sneered.

"Oh? And why is that. Edward? I'm just doing what she wants, she's hot for it." he smiled evilly.

My anger spiked and I felt Bella reach out her hand for me. Her emotions letting me know she was relieved to see me, but was okay. I quickly took her hand and pulled her towards me, away from the fucker who was about to get a beat down from me. I manoeuvred her so that she was behind me, protected by my back.

"She's my girlfriend, fucker. Lay off." I growled.

"Whoa, ok didn't know that. I thought you were gay? That's the saying between most of the girls around here." He held up his hands in a placating manner.

"Well, seeing as I have a girlfriend shouldn't that clear up that rumour for you? Just because I refused to play into those girls' advances doesn't necessarily mean that I am gay." I replied curtly.

"Okay, fine. Geez, chill out dude. She was asking for it anyway." He said before he tried to back away.

I said tried, because as soon as those words were out of his mouth, I had him pinned against the wall, one arm over his chest and throat and the other gripping his shirt at the collar, twisting it in my fist.

"Say that again now, fucker." I hissed at him.

"Edward, honey, it's not worth it. Please honey, he's not worth it." Bella pleaded with me as she grabbed the arm that was pushing against Connelly's neck.

I slowly released him and stepped back. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly to calm myself down. I could feel Bella's panic and worry for me and that helped me calm further. I grabbed her hand and led her away from the fucker and out of the building. I led her over to the quad and our bench and sat down before pulling her onto my lap. I buried my face in her neck and hair and breathed her in. Nothing in the world could calm me like her scent could and it did the trick now too. When I was finally breathing normally, I pulled back and lifted my face to meet her eyes. I could still feel her worry for me, but there was a hint of gratitude creeping in.

"Are you ok, angel?" I asked softly, kicking myself for not checking that first.

"I'm fine. Are you ok?" she replied, stroking my face with her fingertips. I closed my eyes and hummed in approval.

"I am now. I'm sorry I lost it back there, baby. I should have checked that you were okay first." I said remorsefully.

Bella laughed and leaned forward to brush her lips across mine.

"Always my prince, aren't you?" she teased.

"Always." I confirmed, smiling now.

She always knew how to make me smile, no matter what the situation. We sat there for some time, just talking quietly when I heard someone call her name. Her head snapped up and I felt surprise, pain, and then finally anger coming from her. I tightened my hold on her. Whoever this lady was that had called out to her was not a welcome sight for her and it flared up my protective instincts again. She looked down at me briefly when she felt my hackles rise and soothingly ran her fingers through my hair.

"Renee." She whispered to me.

It was all she had to say. On our third date Bella had told me about her relationship with her mother and how she had effectively abandoned Bella and her brother when Bella was two years old to pursue greener pastures and the pain I felt from her when she told me was enough for me to hate Renee without ever having met her. That date was also the one where I had asked her to officially be my girlfriend.

"Bella, sweetie, aren't you going to say hi to your Mom?" Renee crooned at my girlfriend

_God, I loved calling her that openly!_

I felt Bella stiffen further in my arms and I flexed my arms tighter around her without suffocating her. I stared up at the woman stood before us; she looked nothing like my Bella. Renee was taller than Bella by only a couple of inches, blond with grey eyes and had an air of false importance about her. In short, I hated her on sight and I knew Bella could feel it too.

"Renee, what are you doing here? You aren't supposed to be coming in until next week."

Yeah, imagine my surprise at hearing that one.

"I came in early and couldn't wait to see you, sweetie, so here I am." Renee waved her arms around in 'Ta-da' motion making me snort, drawing attention to myself in the process.

"And who is this handsome young man?" she asked in falsely sweet voice.

I stood up, pulling Bella along with me to greet Renee properly. What? I had manners!

"Edward Cullen, ma'am." I said as I stuck out a hand for her to shake.

Renee stared at my hand, then me and then at Bella and back to me. She took it gingerly, as if I had fleas or something and shook it lightly and quickly before releasing it.

"A Pleasure. And how do you know my daughter?" she asked.

"Edward is my boyfriend, Renee." Bella replied for me.

"Boyfriend? Well, it's good to see you out there getting some experience. You sure as hell don't want to be tied down too soon." Renee said in what I'm sure she thought was a motherly tone.

She eyed me up and down, perusing me; appraising me and I felt sick at her attention. I knew Bella felt it too, because she turned to me.

"Edward, honey, why don't you go on to your next class and I'll meet you back here for lunch, okay?" she said to me quickly.

I regarded her for a moment, reading her emotions; they were calm, with an underlying of rage against Renee so I knew I should go. She needed to do this alone. I nodded and bent to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

"Sure, baby. I'll be out by 12pm today." I told her. It was my way of assuring her I knew what she needed and giving it to her.

"Okay."

She hugged me and then let me go.

"Good to meet you, ma'am." I nodded once at Renee and left.

**BPOV**

I spun back to face Renee and finally allowed my rage to boil over. I knew Edward had felt everything I was feeling, but he also knew that this was something I needed to do alone. I had felt his acceptance almost immediately. Even though we had only been together for only two weeks, that man knew me better than anyone else ever had and I was extremely thankful for him. I had also felt his disgust for my mother when she quiet openly checked him out in front of me and that shit just pissed me off even more.

Renee knew that despite her giving her number to Emmett, it would be a cold day in hell before I actually called her so she had pulled this stunt on purpose. I gazed at the woman who had given birth to me for a long moment, just as she gazed back at me, waiting for me to speak first.

Even though Edward was in the building to my left over thirty feet away, I could still feel him. The connection between us grew stronger with each passing day and it was now at a mile range. I could feel his worry for me and I could also feel him fighting against his protective instincts to allow me this time. I derived courage from our connection and took a deep breath before I spoke.

"Renee, what you just did was disgusting; you were checking out your daughter's boyfriend in front of her. I have a couple of things to say to you and then I want you to leave. I don't want to hear what you have to say so I suggest you keep you trap shut, got it?" I paused to take another breath and to give her a chance to respond. She didn't.

"I have no desire to see you or speak to you until such time that you treat me, my brother and my father and not to mention my boyfriend with due respect. If you cannot learn to do that then you will stay away from us and from our lives. You left me when I was two years old. Two! For fuck's sake, I was a baby, a baby that needed her mother. And yes, I saw you frequently growing up, but you never once treated me like you own child, I see that now. From now on, don't call me and don't expect me to call you. I'm done." I finished with my head held high.

I turned to walk away but stopped when she called out to me again.

"Bella, do you really think that young man year old will stick by you? You're young and you're in the middle of a gruelling college life with more years to go before you become something. It's good that you're going out and making new friends, but those friends and certainly _boy_friends do not last through life. You change as you grow and I don't want you making the same mistakes I did. I married young and got pregnant with your brother and then you, don't follow my example sweetie." She said in falsely concerned voice. I spun back to face her and growled.

"Are you calling me and my brother a mistake, Renee? Is that how you feel about us? That we are nothing more than mistakes you made while you were young? If so, then fine. It's just as well that we want no part of your life and nor do we want you as a part of ours. And who says that I have years to go before I _become_ something? I _am_ something right now, I have always _been_ something, but you are just simply too blinded by gold and flash to see it! As for friends and boyfriends who do or don't last through life, let me tell you this; my best friend is Angela Weber and has been since I was six years old, now correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the saying 'Your high school friends are mere acquaintances and don't last past you high school, years'? If so then I think Angela and I proved them wrong. Fifteen years is long ass time to be friends, don't you think? As for my boyfriend, we will last; I can guarantee you that so I suggest you shut the fuck up and just get the hell out of my life!"

With that I spun back round and stalked away from her. I headed to the café where Edward and I had gone after our first meeting. I sat at the same table and cradled my black coffee, feeling damn proud of myself.

* * *

**A/N - So their relationship has progressed. There ia a time jump because they, themselves, have skipped the 'New Relationship' awkwardness and I wanted to show that instead of the 'Get to Know You' phase. That part is not important for this story. The way in which their relationship works is.**

**Oh and, Renee? Grrr! What a B*eeep!, right?**

**As always, R&R!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

**EPOV**

The month and a half after the disastrous meeting with Renee passed in a calm and blissful state. We were now at the end of November and our plans for my parent's party were running full steam ahead. I had asked Bella to be my date to this shindig and she had agreed happily. I had told my parent's that I was seeing someone, but I had not told them who exactly so needless to say when I made the phone call home to let them know that I would be bringing home a guest for Winter Break, my mother crowed with glee.

**Flashback**

_I dialled my parent's house number and waited._

"_Hello?"_

"_Mom?"_

"_Edward? Hey sweetie! How are you?"_

"_I'm fine, Mom. How's Dad?"_

"_He's good; he just got in from work. Hang let me put you on speakerphone so he can talk to you too."_

_I heard a rustling in the background and few curses and Mom tried to figure out how to turn the phone on speaker and I couldn't help but laugh. Mom and Technology never did get along. She managed it with my fathers help eventually._

"_What are you laughing at, son?"_

"_Hey Dad, I hear Mom and technology are still fighting?"_

_Dad laughed as Mom grumbled next to him._

"_How are you, son?"_

"_I'm good. Really good."_

"_Oh?"_

"_Yeah. Um…I wanted to let you know that I'm bringing home a guest for winter break if that's ok?"_

"_A guest? Who is it sweetie?"_

_Ahh…my mother ladies and gentleman, always the suave interrogator._

"_My…um…My girlfriend."_

_It was silent for a beat and then I heard a very Alice-like squeal come through the phone loud and clear causing me to pull the phone away from my ear. I only pulled it back after it had been quiet for a few long seconds._

"_Hello? You guys still there?"_

"_Yeah, son, I'm here, though your mother has gone to call your Aunts and uncles I'm sure."_

_I groaned and dropped my head into my hand._

"_Please tell me you are joking?"_

"_Afraid not, son. I can hear her chattering away in the other room already."_

"_Great. Christmas should be just fun."_

_My father laughed. We chatted for a few minutes more about my classes and Alice's and then we hung up, leaving Mom still on the her cell._

**End Flashback**

I still groaned at the thought of what a showcase the party would be. Bella simply found it funny and laughed at me when I grumbled about it. Bella and Alice had formed a fast friendship and gotten close over all the party planning. I didn't begrudge them their fun, but shit, it took my time with Bella away and I was not a happy camper about that. Another thing which my lovely girlfriend laughed at me for.

I grumbled to myself as I set about getting ready to pick her up to leave for the airport. Mid-terms were done with and classes were running on a light schedule which meant that we could take off for Chicago earlier than originally planned. However we were not going directly to Chicago. We would be making a week's stop over in New York first and I was shitting bricks over that. I would be meeting her father and brother. Now in any man's life, this moment is crucial for their relationship, I knew that, but it didn't stop me from dreading it nonetheless.

I could feel my angel from her building and her emotions told me that she was excited to be going home but also just as nervous as me. Whether she was nervous to have me meet her family or to be meeting mine was a mystery. I think it was a little of both. I sent her a wave of love and reassurance and I felt her gratitude in return. The pull between us had grown even stronger and the range had doubled to two miles now, though the range only applied to the electric pull and not the emotions. I still had to be a mile or less near her to feel her emotions and she mine, but I could feel the pull to her for nearly two miles now.

I finished packing and double checked I had everything and swung my bag over my shoulder. I dropped my stuff by the front door and headed into the kitchen where I could hear Jasper and Alice talking quietly.

"Hey, guys, I'm off now. I'll see you two at home in a week." I said as I strolled in.

"Sure will. Are you gonna be okay, man? You know, meeting the father in law and all." Jasper teased.

"Fuck you, man. I'll be fine." I retorted as I flipped him off.

Alice and Jasper would be going straight to Chicago next week and Bella and I would meet them there two day before the party. Alice, in all her infinite wisdom had suggested that she and Jasper take Bella's dress with them. I complained at that because I was hoping to get a peek at it beforehand, but my sneaky little shit, otherwise known as my twin knew I would do it so shot that down with her offer right away.

"Ali, can you pick up my tux from the dry cleaners when you get in please? I had Dad take it down for me." I said as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Of course, Edward." Alice replied absently as she browsed online on my laptop.

"And don't forget to take that with you too." I pointed to my laptop.

Alice waved a hand at me. I downed half the bottle of water before I recapped it and headed back out. I felt the pull move closer and I wondered what my angel was doing, just as I heard a knock at the front door. Her emotions were telling me nothing new, but I knew it was her. I swung open the door and grinned.

"Hey angel, am I not supposed to be the one picking you up?" I greeted her as I bent to place a kiss on her cheek and grab her bags from her at the same time.

"You were late." She shrugged.

I glanced at the clock and realised that she was right.

"I'm sorry angel, I got talking to Alice and well…you know how it is." I said contritely.

Bella reached up and caressed my cheek with her fingertips. I closed my eyes and savoured the zing I always got from her touch.

"It's ok, prince."

She had recently taken to calling me simply 'prince' when she didn't call me 'honey' and let me tell you, I ate that shit up. I loved it. I was her prince and she was my angel, why wouldn't I love it.

"Shall we go baby? We have a flight to catch." I murmured as I wrapped my arms around her tiny waist and pulled her close.

"Yes, but you may have to let me go in order for me to walk." She replied softly.

"Mmm…maybe I could just carry you then." I answered.

I bent and pressed a gentle kiss on her lips and tightened my arms around her. She brought her arms up and wound them around my neck, threading her fingers in the hair at the base of my skull. I started to deepen the kiss but was broken out of my stupor by a throat clearing behind me. I reluctantly released Bella's lips and turned to find my sister and Jasper standing behind us grinning like fools.

"Oh don't mind us; we were just trying to leave the apartment." Jasper drawled. Fucktard.

Bella giggled and un-wound her hands, which made me miss them immediately. She felt my emotion and soothingly rubbed my arm up and down.

"Hey Ali, Hey Jasper. See you in a week, I guess?" Bella said to the two kiss-blockers.

Bitter much? Yeah, well you try kissing your girlfriend only to be interrupted by your sister and best friend and we'll see how happy you'll be.

"You sure will, little lady." Jasper drawled.

We exchanged goodbyes and left the apartment shortly after that. I drove to the airport and parked in the long term parking. Each step towards the plane served to grow the nervousness within me and Bella was rubbing soothing circles on my knuckles as she read my emotions. I really didn't know what to expect from her brother and father, but she assured me it would all be fine. I wasn't so sure, but hey, that may just be the nervousness talking.

We landed in New York at 1.20pm local time and quickly made our way to baggage claim. Our bags came quite quickly thankfully and we exited out to the arrivals area. Bella stood on her tiptoes searching the crowd. I stood shifting my feet next to her. Her brother was meant to be collecting us and since I had no clue what he looked like; I couldn't very well help her look, could I? I was fiddling with the strap of my carry on when I heard a very familiar voice.

"Hey Edward, you ok there? You look like you're shitting bricks."

I spun and came face to face with Rose, who was smiling at me in an 'I'm enjoying your state of mind' way.

"Hey Rose. Ever the bitch, I see?" I replied, teasingly.

What? This is how our relationship worked for us.

"And proud of it, bub." She retorted.

We grinned at each other and then she launched herself to me, hugging me tightly. I picked her up slightly and spun her in a tight circle.

"God, you are a sight for sore eyes. I miss you guys something fierce." Rose sighed as I set her back down on her feet.

"Well, Jasper misses you too, the rest of us? Eh, not so much." I shrugged and she slugged me on the arm.

"Should I be worried that some strange dude is hugging my girlfriend?" I heard a booming voice from behind me.

I turned and had to crane my neck up slightly. A man, about the size of a bear stood before me. He was huge. Tall, brown hair, brown eyes and ripped to the max. My eyes trailed from his feet and up his body to his face where I found his mouth hanging open in shock. I felt my angel's nervousness and shifted my eyes over to her. She was standing to the left of the bear of a man, whom I could only assume was her brother, biting down on her bottom lip. I held out my hand to her and she stepped forward without hesitation and took it. Both of us released a sigh of relief as soon as our skin came into contact.

"Em? Are you ok?" Bella asked her brother.

He stood there gaping like a fish for a few more seconds before snapping his mouth shut and looking back and forth from me to Bella.

"No. Way. How…I mean…He's….Shit…" the big guy stammered.

I looked at him confused and then down at Bella.

"He's seen the picture too. The one of Eric and Lucienne's engagement announcement." She whispered to me lowly so that I was the only one to hear.

"Ah…Ok, that explains his loss of speech then." I replied, relieved.

Rose continued to look between the three of us, confused. I guess no one had told her of our…er, situation, I guess you could call it. Emmett snapped out of his daze and held out his hand to me. I took it and shook it firmly.

"Ok, so you are real otherwise I would not have felt that handshake." He said. I chuckled and Bella laughed from beside me.

"Why wouldn't he be real? What the fuck is wrong with you, Em?" Rose asked. Emmett looked back at me.

"She doesn't know?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I never told her. Jasper knows, she doesn't." I explained.

"What? Know what?" Rose asked her head whipping from me to Emmett.

Emmett sighed and ran his very large hand down his face, dragging the skin downwards.

"Shit." he mumbled.

"Shall we head on home where it would be more convenient for the coming conversation?" Bella offered, a wave of irritation hitting me.

"Sure, sis. Lets go. Sorry man should have said; I'm Emmett, Bella's brother." Emmett said to me as he grabbed Bella's bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Nice to meet you, Emmett. I'm Edward." I replied.

"Or Eric." He muttered and strode off towards the exit.

"Who the fuck is Eric?" Rose shouted after him as she followed him.

I sighed and looked down at Bella, who was staring after her brother in concentration. I squeezed her hand and she glanced up at me and gave me a small smile. I tugged her hand and we took off after her brother and Rose at a quick pace.

The ride to Bella's home was a very quiet one. The atmosphere was not tense per say, but it was not entirely comfortable either. Bella and I sat huddled in the back, whispering quietly to each other. I quickly told her that Rose had not attended the same school as Jasper, Alice and me so she didn't know about my dreams of her. She in turn told me that Emmett knew about a lot of them, but not all. She told me that she showed Emmett the picture of Eric when she was sixteen during a fight they had once when she tried to tell him more about her dreams. Apparently she had been using him as a sounding board and he had told her that she wasn't a child any longer and shouldn't believe her dreams of a prince.

We pulled up to a high rise apartment building and got out once Emmett had parked his jeep, which was just as huge in size as he was. The car suited him to perfection. The ride in the elevator up to their penthouse apartment was also quiet. From what Bella had told me of Emmett, he was not a quiet person by nature so his silence put me on edge. I could only guess what was going on in his mind. Bella sent me wave after wave of calm reassurance as she rubbed soothing circles on my knuckles. I sent her my gratitude in return.

We stepped out of the elevator directly into a large foyer and I gazed around at my surroundings. Bella's home was beautiful. It wasn't styled opulently, and had a homey feel to it despite the size. I followed Bella to the bedrooms on the second floor and she offered to give me the grand tour later. She led me to the room in which I would be staying for the week and I dropped off my bags then followed her to her room to drop off hers before heading back down to the huge lounge area.

Bella's room was done in cream and light blues. Her walls were cream and she had light blue curtains on her windows in what looked like an organza material. Her queen-size bed was covered in a cream and blue comforter and looked extremely inviting. On one wall she had shelving that reached to the ceiling and the top six shelves were stacked with books and the bottom six in CD's, her CD player sat on a little table to the side with the matching speakers. The wall directly opposite her bed had her 32" plasma screen TV mounted against it. All in all, it was very similar to my room back in Chicago; the only difference was the colour scheme. Mine was cream and chocolate brown.

"Are you going to tell Rose?" Bella whispered to me as we walked hand in hand back down to the lounge.

"Should I?" I asked in return.

"That's up to you, prince. Will she believe you?" she hedged. I shrugged.

"You never know with Rose." I replied.

We heard quiet talking coming from the room and I stopped just outside, tugging on Bella's hand to stop her with me. I pulled her into my body, needing to feel her for a few moments. She came willingly as she felt my emotions and wrapped her arms around my waist. Those three little words had been on the tip of my tongue for weeks now, but we had yet to say them to one another. I knew I loved her, I had for thirteen years, hell I had for the six lifetimes before now too, but I hadn't gathered the courage to say them to her in this life yet.

I also knew she loved me in return. Our bond allowed us that luxury of never having to worry about that. We would never be like normal couples on wondering if our declarations of love would be rejected, but I still held back from uttering the words. Why? I don't know. I guess I wasn't ready to say the out loud yet, so I did the next best thing; I sent that love to her through our bond. She smiled up at me as she felt it and sent it right back.

"What the hell is wrong with you Emmett? You've been acting strange since you set eyes on Edward." We heard Rose demand from the lounge.

"There's a lot you don't know, Rose. Leave it alone. It's not for me to say." Emmett replied quietly.

I sighed and released Bella and stepped back slightly, keeping her hand in mine.

"I think it's time I came clean to Rose. Shall we, my angel?" I said. Bella nodded.

We stepped into the living room and surveyed the scene; Emmett was sitting on the couch, hunched forward, his elbows resting on his knees, head hanging down his eyes on the floor and Rose was standing before him, her hands on her hips, head cocked to one side.

"Rose?" I called softly.

Rose's head whipped round and she locked eyes with me. Bella squeezed my hand once and let go to cross the room to her brother. She sat down beside him and wrapped and arm around his shoulders, whispering into his ear. She spoke so softly that I couldn't hear what she said, but I felt her pain at seeing her brother hurting. I clutched my chest and gasped. Bella's eyes snapped up to me and I felt her confusion and then her realisation.

"I'm sorry, honey." She whispered to me.

I nodded to show her it was ok and turned back to Rose who was watching me curiously. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed once again.

"Shall we sit, Rose? There's a lot that needs to be said tonight." I gestured to the other sofa opposite the one where my angel was sitting with her brother.

Rose eyed me for a moment and then nodded and crossed to the sofa and sat down. I followed her and sat down next to her, mirroring Emmett's pose. I felt a wave of strength wash through me and I raised my head and locked eyes with Bella, smiling at her in thanks. I dropped my head back down and started speaking.

"Do you believe in reincarnation, Rose?" I asked.

"In theory." She replied, making me smile again.

Trust Rose to be difficult.

"Do you believe in soul mates?" I tried again.

"I didn't, not until I met Emmett." She said softly.

I turned my head slightly so that I could see her, without actually meeting her eyes.

"Bella and I are soul mates of the truest kind. It's hard to explain, so please listen to my whole story before you ask any questions, ok?" I said. She nodded.

I took a deep breath and looked up at Bella once more, this time I kept eye contact with her as I spoke. I told Rose of my dreams, giving her full descriptions of the settings, of the clothing, the emotions and of the girl in my dreams. I told her of how they started on my eighth birthday and how I used to be annoyed to be dreaming of prince and princesses, which I had considered to be sissy. I then went on to describe to her the electric feeling and the surrounding pulse, at this Emmett looked at me in surprise and then at Bella, who nodded once in agreement. I continued on to tell Rose of each of my lives and deaths. I told her of my journals. I told her of my feelings and my difficulty of relating to other girls and also my vow of celibacy after my last attempt at being normal and trying to have a relationship at age eighteen. I finished off with the dreams from the last two years and of the last dream with the Angel of Destiny.

This one took a bit more describing, but I ended my long explanation finally with the day I had met my Bella. I had kept eye contact with Bella the entire time I was talking as she kept up a continuous stream of strength and devotion through our bond.

Bella then explained briefly of her dreams and her side of the story. As I listened to her, I realised that my hesitation to tell her my feelings was a moot point. She knew anyway and that made me determined in my course.

As soon as she finished speaking, I stood from my seat and she looked up at me, feeling what I was feeling. I crossed the small space separating us and dropped to my knees before her, taking her small, warm hands in my own. I raised her hands to my lips and kissed each one as I gazed into her eyes. I sent her wave after wave of adoration and her eyes filled with tears. I inhaled a sharp breath and then exhaled it in a long sigh.

"I love you, angel." I whispered to her.

Her tears brimmed over and fell down her face and I felt her joy and happiness mixed with love. She pulled one of her hands out of mine and cupped my cheek. I leaned my face into her hand and turned my head to kiss her palm.

"I love you too, prince." She whispered back.

I beamed at her and leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers in a chaste kiss. I couldn't very well take it further with her WWF sized brother sitting next to her, could I?

"Um…wow…" Rose whispered from behind me.

"You got that right, babe." Emmett agreed from beside us.

We spent the rest of the afternoon answering Rose and Emmett's question, while I held Bella in my lap, my arms securely around her tiny waist until we heard the ding of the elevator. I felt a wave nervousness come from Bella and looked at her curiously. She avoided my eyes until I finally just asked her.

"Baby? Why are you nervous?"

"Dad's home." She whispered as I felt another wave but this time mixed with fear.

"And you're afraid he won't approve of us?" I guessed. She bit her lip and then nodded.

I leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss on her temple and sent her a wave of strength just as she had done for me earlier. She turned her head and smiled at me in thanks and then placed a quick kiss on my lips just as her father stepped into the room.

"Hey Bells! You came!"

Bella got up from my lap and hurried over to hug her father tightly. I felt her love and adoration for her father and smiled. She truly was a Daddy's Girl and I found it unbearable cute. I only hoped our daughter would be like her and be my little princess.

_What? Did I seriously just think that?_

Yes. Yes I did and you know what? It didn't even scare me in the slightest.

I was brought out of my thoughts by a throat clearing from right in front of me. I quickly looked up to see Bella and her father standing before me. I stood to my feet and straightened up.

"Dad, this is my boyfriend, Edward Cullen. Edward, this is my Dad, Charlie Swan." Bella introduced us. I stuck out my hand.

"A pleasure to meet you Mr Swan." I said as he shook my hand.

His grip was strong and firm with a slight pressure. It was the grip of a professional.

"Nice to meet you too, Edward. Say, are you related to Marcus Cullen?" he asked.

I looked at him in surprise and then smiled.

"Yes sir, he's my uncle." I replied, relaxing slightly at his non-threatening tone.

"Good man. Works for me at my firm. He's a brilliant lawyer." Charlie stated proudly.

"He is a good man. One of the best that I know." I answered, with a touch of pride for my uncle in my voice.

"What do you do, Edward?" he asked as he moved to sit in the armchair across the room. I sat down where I had been before.

"I'm a second year Psyche student at Berkley, sir." I replied.

"You're a shrink?" he asked in surprise. I chuckled.

"Not yet, sir but I hope to be one day."

"Isn't your father a doctor?"

I was surprised again. It seemed that Uncle Marcus had been talking about his family with his boss. My uncle must like and respect this man because he didn't talk about family to just anyone. Ever.

"Yes sir, he is. He's the Chief of Surgery at Chicago University Hospital." I confirmed.

"You have no plans to follow in his footsteps?" Charlie asked curiously.

I felt Bella leave the room and looked up towards the door. Her emotions were telling me that she was relaxed, so I turned back to answer Charlie's question content that she wasn't nervous or afraid anymore.

"No. I don't like the time it would take away from my family."

"So you resent his profession? I think his achievements are admirable." Charlie asked defensively. I shook my head.

"I don't resent his profession, I resent the time we lost with him as a father. He was always a doctor first and foremost and I watched my mother raise my sister and I alone mostly. Don't get me wrong, sir. I love my father and I admire his dedication to his job a lot, but it's not for me. I could never leave my wife to raise our kids alone. It's just not me." I explained calmly.

"You sound like you have thought about it a lot?" he mused.

"I have. I knew by the time I was thirteen that I didn't want to be a doctor in that sense, but it is because of my father and his profession that I have chosen the path that I am on so I have a lot to thank him for." I confirmed.

"Shrink's make a lot of money too. Your wife would not have to work." He pointed out.

"If Bella wishes to work then she may. I will not be the one to hold her back." I stated firmly.

There was a long silence as Charlie, Emmett and Rose stared at me with their mouths hanging open. I looked from each face and wondered what I had said that caused this reaction. I felt Bella return to the room and felt her confusion mixing with mine. I looked up at her as she stepped into the room and she cocked an eyebrow at me once she had taken in her family's expressions.

"What happened?" she demanded, moving to sit beside me. I shrugged.

"I have no idea." I replied, still confused.

Rose was the one to recover first as she snapped her mouth closed and cleared her throat once, twice, three times before she finally found her voice.

"Edward, do you realise what the hell you just said?" she asked.

I stared at her, still confused as I thought back to the conversation I had just been having with Bella's father. We had been talking about my Dad's job and my chosen profession, the reasons for it and then Charlie had said that I would make enough money to support both my wife and I and I had stated…and then it hit me what I had said exactly.

"_If Bella wishes to work then she may. I will not be the one to hold her back."_

I had said 'Bella' in relation to my wife and not just used the term 'wife' in general. I flushed and Bella looked at me curiously as she felt my embarrassment. I avoided her eyes and everyone else's as I stared at the floor.

"Holy…" Emmett began.

"Shit." Rose finished for him.

"He's serious." Emmett breathed.

"Yep." Rose confirmed, eyeing me.

"Shit." Emmett said, stunned.

"Edward?" Bella murmured.

I slowly raised my eyes to meet her beautiful chocolate brown ones, which were filled with confusion and questions.

"What's going on? What did you say to turn my father into a speechless statue?" she asked.

I looked over at her father and sure enough, he was sat unmoving in his armchair, his mouth now closed, but simply staring at me. I couldn't decipher his expression. I stared back at him, unwavering. Even if I had said it without realising it didn't mean I meant it any less. I knew we were young and so was our relationship, but shit; I knew where I was going with it. She was my soul mate, my other half so what was the point in beating around the bush. She was it for me. There would be no one else for me. Ever.

I vaguely heard Rose recount our conversation to Bella, but my eyes stayed locked on Charlie's. I watched as he slowly came back to life and awareness dawned in his brown eyes. He squared his shoulders and cleared his throat before he spoke.

"Thank you, Edward, for being so honest with me." he said

With that he rose to his feet and left the room. I slumped back on the sofa and turned my head to look at my angel. I felt her surprise, awe and love as she gazed back at me. I smiled softly at her and she leaned down to press a loving kiss on my lips. I gladly accepted it and wound my arms around her waist and pulled her down so that her head was resting on my chest.

"I love you, Edward." She whispered into my shirt.

"I love you too, baby. So much." I whispered back as I closed my eyes and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

**A/N - Can I get a 'Awwww', please? Romanticward lives!**

**Okay, here is where things will slow down, folks. The next two chapters are almost finished and will be posted as per the 'Daily Agreement', but after that...Well, that's anyone's guess as I haven't even BEGUN to write out Chapter 15! I'm hoping it won't be too long a wait, but then I always march to the beat of my own drum!**

**I make no promises that I can't keep and prefer to be honest with y'all. Sorry if this upsets you. Not my intention!**

**Stay with me and don't forget - R&R!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen  
CPOV (Charlie)**

I slumped down on my bed, having just left my kids in the lounge with their respective others and dragged my hand down my face. I always knew this day would come, but shit, I didn't know it would come this soon! That boy in there, one that I had never met before today had just told me in no uncertain terms that he would be the one to marry my daughter. My twenty one year old daughter. The daughter that I had almost single handily raised by myself. The daughter that was still in college. I'm not stupid. I knew the moment Bella introduced me to him, by the tone of her voice, that she was in love with him and the adoring looks he gave her in return showed that he loved her just as much but they were so young.

I had been there before. Young and in love. Thinking that there would be no one else for me ever. Look where that got me. Married at nineteen, a father at twenty one and divorced by the time I was twenty five. I may be well aware that my daughter is not Renee and Edward is not me but the father in me was worried.

Worried for my little girl's heart and fragile emotions.

What if he hurt her?

What if they married and got pregnant only to realise that it was not what they wanted?

What if she got pregnant and _he_ decided it wasn't what he wanted?

So many 'What if's'.

Only one way to find answers, I supposed. I needed to have a man to man chat with Mr. Edward Cullen. And soon.

* * *

**A/N - Trust me, it was better this way!**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N - Two for the price of one today as the last one was so damn short. This one isn't that long either, but it needed to stop here for the flow of the story. Yes, there is a method to my madness!**

**Okay, as warned, this will be the last in the 'Daily Updates Agreement'. It's all I have written right now. Chapter Fifteen is flitting around in my mind - I just need to get it down on paper...er...Word for Windows, I mean. I'm hoping it will be finished this weekend, with an update next week. Wish me luck!**

**On with the story...**

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen  
BPOV**

Our first night in my home was spent with all of us in separate rooms. Dad had long since locked himself in his bedroom and had not even emerged for dinner. Emmett and Rosalie disappeared into his bedroom to...you know what, I don't even want to think about my brother in that way so I'll stop that thought right there. Edward and I lounged in the entertainment room as we watched movies and stuffed ourselves with popcorn.

The next morning, I was still in awe over what Edward had said to my father and ecstatically overjoyed from hearing the 'L' word from his mouth for the first time. Sure, I had felt it clearly through our bond and knew from the moment I met him in the flesh that he loved me, but to actually hear it from him was an indescribable feeling. I played the moment over and over in my mind as I waited for the coffee to finish brewing.

"What are you so happy about there, angel?" I was broken out of my musings by the velvet tones of my prince. I lifted my unseeing eyes from the coffee pot and looked up at him with a wide smile, reading his contentment and amusement through our bond.

"You." I replied.

I felt his confusion, "Me?" he questioned.

"Mmhm. You said you loved me." I said softly as I dropped my eyes from him shyly.

"Don't be shy, baby. Did you not feel my love for you all this time?" he asked as he lifted my face back up to him by hooking a finger under my chin.

"I did, but it was nice to hear it too." I replied.

He bent and brushed his lips over mine, causing heat to flood through my entire body, "I love you my angel. More than words can say." He murmured against my lips.

I felt our bond thrum with adoration from him and answered with my own in return, "I love you too, my prince. More than my own life." I answered before he pressed his lips more firmly to mine.

He tilted his head and deepened the kiss, nipping and sucking on my bottom lip as I sucked on his top one in return. Kissing Edward was by far the best thing in my life. The feel of his lips against mine just felt...right. I never felt more complete than when I felt his lips on my own.

"Ahem."

We pulled apart as a throat cleared from the doorway. I looked up to see my father standing in the doorway shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot. I felt trepidation flow through the bond and looked back to Edward quickly. He was staring at my father with an equally uncomfortable look on his face. I felt Edward's discomfort and uncertainty flow from him into me and it made me straighten up to my full 5'4" height. Dad cleared his throat once again and then darted a look from me to Edward before he spoke.

"Good morning. Sleep well?" he asked quietly.

"Morning Dad." I replied quickly to give Edward some time to get his thoughts in order.

"Good morning, sir. I slept very well thank you. The bed was extremely comfortable." Edward chimed in confidently. If it wasn't for our bond, I would never have guessed how nervous he really was.

Dad nodded his head once and then locked eyes with my prince, "May we speak? Alone." I looked from one to the other and felt my own nervousness grow. Edward chanced a glance down at me before looking back at Dad. I felt a wave of adoration and reassurance flow through our bond from him and I relaxed into his side.

"Of course, sir. Bella, why don't you go see if your brother is awake and get dressed for the day and I'll join you when I'm done?" Edward replied calmly.

I looked from one to the other once again before I nodded and raised up onto my tiptoes to place a quick chaste kiss on Edward's lips and then turned to my father to shoot him a warning glare before I left the kitchen. I didn't go too far though. I allowed the door to shut behind me and I stood on the other side with my ear pressed to it.

"I'm not going to ask you what your intentions are with my daughter, Edward as you made them very clear last night." Dad started immediately.

"Then what keeps the frown on your face, sir?" Edward replied, still calmly.

"The seriousness of your relationship as opposed to your age." Dad answered simply.

"In what way, sir?" Edward asked.

"You are both so young. How can you know what you want already? You know, I was your age when I was a husband and a father. I was divorced by the time I was twenty five. I look back now and realise that I didn't know what love was. Not then. Love is a partnership. It's about compromising. It's about being supported and doing the supporting no matter what. It's about sacrificing. I wasn't prepared to embrace all that at twenty one; how can you be? How can you or I expect my daughter to be ready for all of that? How do I know that when the going gets tough, you won't bail at the first sign?"

I felt anger course through me as well as sadness at my father's words. How could he compare Edward to him? How could he compare me to Renee? We were nothing like them. Our love and our relationship was pretty much a sure thing. If only he could see that.

I was so lost in my head that I almost missed Edward's response, but the mention of my name brought me back to the present.

"…Bella is nothing like Renee – whom, I have had the pleasure of meeting. I understand that as a father, you are bound to have all those concerns and questions. I have no way of proving to you that we will never end up as you did. Time is the only thing I can ask you to give me to show you."

"That's all well and good, son but-"

Edward cut in before my father could finish his sentence too, "With all due respect, sir, I am not you, either." He asserted quietly and I felt love fill my heart for my prince.

There was a minute of silence and then Edward spoke again, "I love your daughter beyond all reason, sir. She is the very air that I breathe and as corny as it sounds, she is the other – better – half of me. We Cullen's love well and love fierce for life. My father was eighteen when he met my mother. They married at twenty and are, still to this day, very much in love. What I have with Bella rivals that. We understand each other. We complete each other." Edward said firmly causing pride to well up within me.

"That sounds all good, but how can you speak for Bella? How do you know she is just as serious about this as you are?" My father asked quietly.

I sucked in a breath. I had hoped this would not be a question that would come up as I knew that Edward would answer it with nothing but honesty. That thought frightened me as I worried that my father would not understand fully what Edward would say.

"I know how she feels." Edward replied simply yet firmly.

"How?" dad pressed.

"I feel her emotions as clearly as if they were my own." Edward answered confidently.

There was another long silence and I could feel the calmness flowing through Edward and it calmed me in turn. I knew that he could feel me here and I didn't care. I wanted him to know that I was listening to everything.

"Love and relationships are not a fairytale, Edward." Dad said quietly yet firmly.

Edward laughed, a short light sound, "Oh, I know that, sir. But I wasn't lying when I said I could feel Bella's emotions as clearly as I feel my own. For example, I know for a fact that right now, she is standing two feet away from the kitchen door and she is feeling proud and embarrassed all at once. Am I right, baby?" Edward replied, his voice slightly raised at the end.

I grinned sheepishly, "100%, prince!" I shouted back.

"That is neither here nor there-" dad started to answer before Edward cut him off again.

"Angel, can you read what I am feeling, please?" Edward yelled to me.

"Love and adoration for me and frustration that my father is not understanding what you are saying correctly." I yelled back, smiling like a goon.

"Thank you, baby. Right as always!" he said to me before speaking to my father once again, "It's no trick, sir. Bella and I are connected in such a way that no one but us can understand it. We don't expect you to, but we do expect for you to allow us the benefit of doubt."

"What the hell is going on? I want an explanation! Now!" I heard dad shout and that was all I could take and made my way back into the kitchen.

"Bella is coming, sir. Maybe we should sit down for this discussion, yes?" Edward sighed. Two seconds later I stepped into the kitchen and my father's eyes bugged out of his head as he stared from me to Edward. I stepped closer to Edward and slipped my hand into to his, squeezing in support.

"Isabella Marie, explain. Now!" dad fumed as he gripped the breakfast island.

I sighed, "We will Dad, but you need to sit down for this. It's not an easy explanation." I smiled meekly at him and squeezed Edwards hand tightly. We led the way into the lounge and took the same positions we were in yesterday – Edward and I side by side on the sofa and dad in the recliner.

I gazed at my father as he stared back at me evenly - expectantly. I tried to gather my thoughts into the words I wanted to say but my mind was curiously blank. I felt frustrated and terrified of my father's reaction to what we had to say. It had to be done. I knew that, it just didn't make it any easier to do actually _do_ it.

I guess the only place to start would be the beginning.

With that thought in mind I took a deep breath and began telling my side of the whole unbelievable tale.

* * *

**A/N - Who thinks Charlie will react badly? What do think he will have to say about all of this?**

**As always R&R!**


	16. AURTHOR'S NOTE!

**A/N**

**(Yeah, don't you just hate these? I know I do!)**

**Got a new story for you guys. The first chapter is almost written and should be loaded soon. The next chapter for this story is also in the works, but it seems to love giving me problems with the flow! Silly Charlie! Why can't he be less of a sceptic?**

**Thanks**

**Nehnah**

**NEW STORY SYNOPSIS:**

_Welcome to Dinner Date, the show that uses food to find love. Based on the British show, this new LA version runs in the same way. Each week we meet one hopeful person who is looking for that special someone. Three dinners, three dates…Who will win the coveted second date? Is food really the way to someone's heart? Watch and find out!_


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